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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29296509">Omori &amp; Persona 4 Crossover</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PigmaskGuy/pseuds/PigmaskGuy'>PigmaskGuy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>OMORI (Video Game), Persona 4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, My First Fanfic, OMORI Spoilers, Persona 2 references/spoilers, Persona 3 references/spoilers, Persona 4 Spoilers, Please Don't Hate Me, Slow Burn, eventual sunburn trash</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:48:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>64,716</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29296509</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PigmaskGuy/pseuds/PigmaskGuy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A crossover between Omori and Persona 4. There will be spoilers for both games. This will basically be Persona 4 but with Omori characters. This was an idea I came up with one day and thought it would be cool. This is my first fanfiction so please don't yell at me if it's bad, I'll cry.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aubrey/Sunny (OMORI), Basil/Cris (OMORI), Kel/Kim (OMORI)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>74</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>215</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been one year since that fateful day. Sunny had not seen his friends since he moved to the city. His only interaction with them had been through phone calls. However, that was about to change. Sunny would be staying in Faraway Town with his uncle for an entire year since Sunny’s mother had to leave the country for work. Sunny was both excited and scared to see his friend’s faces again. It seemed like Sunny’s friends had forgiven him for a “certain incident,” which calmed his soul, but he was still skeptical they might hate him. Sunny sat in the car, staring out the window, waiting to return to his home town.<br/>
“You’re going to call me every day, right Sunny?” Sunny’s mom asked.<br/>
“Huh? Oh… Yeah…” Sunny replied, going back to staring out the window.<br/>
“And you’re going to be a good boy for uncle Ryotaro?”<br/>
“Yes…”<br/>
“What else… Are you going to work hard at your old school this year?”<br/>
“Always…”<br/>
Sunny’s mom knew he was only barely paying attention. This was further cemented when she saw him yawn in the mirror and lie his head on the window. Sunny would eventually fall asleep. However, this dream was different. Sunny awoke in a strange blank room. He felt a strange nostalgic feeling.<br/>
“Is this… Whitespace?” Sunny thought. However, the place was missing Whitespace’s key ingredient, in that it was not white. Instead, it was blue. Sunny then noticed two people in front of him. One was a young-ish woman with white hair and a large blue dress. There was also a funny-looking man in a suit that was sitting at a table. The man’s most noticeable feature was his comically large noes, big enough to poke out Sunny’s one good eye. The man spoke to Sunny in a strange voice.<br/>
“Welcome to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter.” Sunny stood up and looked at both the strange characters in front of him. The man continued speaking to Sunny,<br/>
“My name is Igor. It appears that you have embarked on a journey that has changed your life. However, this is just the beginning. You will face more hardships in the coming year. This time, however, your bonds will still be a huge factor in your success.” The man then pushed forward a piece of paper with many words that Sunny could not make out. The lady then spoke,<br/>
“This contract will be important to your success.” The lady stated. Sunny immediately thought this was another strange dream, and he was standing in front of Jawsum. This caused him to believe that nothing good could come from signing this contract.<br/>
“What is this contract?” Sunny asked.<br/>
“Faith is important for your upcoming mission. I can already tell your faith is strong. You need to stay strong.” The lady replied, avoiding the question.<br/>
Sunny sighed, and signed the contract.<br/>
SUNNY NARUKAMI<br/>
“Thank you.” Igor smiled. “The fate of this world… is in your hands.” Sunny then awoke to the stop of the car. They had arrived at Faraway Town. Specifically Sunny’s uncle’s house. Sunny and his mom stepped out of the car with all of Sunny’s luggage. They were greeted by Ryotaro Dojima, Sunny’s uncle.<br/>
“It’s been quite some time!” Sunny’s mom said to Ryotaro<br/>
“It certainly has,” Ryotaro responded. His eyes met Sunny’s. “How’s it going, big guy? I haven’t seen you since you were a baby!” Sunny had very few memories of his uncle, the only memories being various pictures he had seen. He was, however, surprised that the topic of his eyepatch was not brought up.<br/>
“So this is the guy who’s going to be spending the year with me?” Ryotaro asked, directed at Sunny. Sunny did not respond.<br/>
“He just tired from the drive.” Sunny’s mom said for him while handing some of Sunny’s luggage to Ryotaro. Sunny received a hug from his mother before they parted ways. He and Ryotaro entered his house, the house he would be staying at for the next year. Sunny had no idea what this year held in store for him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Arrival</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ryotaro ushered Sunny into his house. They were both greeted by a small voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is he here?” the small voice asked. There was a hint of nervousness in the voice, a feeling Sunny knew all too well. Ryotaro motioned to Sunny</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nanako, this is your cousin Sunny.” Nanako kept her distance from Sunny while inspecting him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you a pirate?” she asked innocently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nanako! Don’t be rude!” Ryotaro scolded. Sunny had gotten used to people talking about his eye, or lack thereof. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… sorry…” Nanako apologized. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you show Sunny around the house? I doubt he remembers what it looked like.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay!” Nanako immediately became extremely cheerful. She immediately ran to the Television. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is where we can watch TV. What do you like to watch?” Sunny didn’t know how to respond. He hadn’t actually watched anything in years. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not what I meant, Nanako… Why don’t you show him where he’ll be sleeping.” Ryotaro suggested. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… Okay!” Nanako ran over to a set of stairs. Ryotaro put his hand on Sunny’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You might not be able to tell, but I think she likes you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny followed Nanako to the room he would be sleeping in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is where you will be sleeping. Dad said that he knew you were going to be here so he bought a new mattress just for you.” There was a mattress on the floor next to a dresser. It didn’t look too comfortable. Ryotaro walked in carrying Sunny’s suitcases. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I brought your stuff up. Nanako, why don’t we let him unpack.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny’s relatives left him to organize all of his belongings. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>*****</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny finished unpacking and had one thing left to do. He pulled out his phone to tell his friends he had arrived in Faraway. Many different things rushed through his mind as to what he would want to say. Eventually, he decided to type a simple “I arrived” in the chat. The responses came faster than he expected. </span>
</p><p>
  <b>APRIL 11th, 20XX. 11:54 PM</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny&gt; I arrived.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel&gt; My main man Sunny is here! How was the trip!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Basil&gt; Hi Sunny :)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel&gt; It’s kinda late, so we should hang out tomorrow. You should tell me all about your trip!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey&gt; Not here. Some people want to sleep. Also, welcome home Sunny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel&gt; You’re no fun…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny’s phone rang. It was Kel. Sunny hated talking on the phone but picked up anyways. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yooo Sunny! Some people would rather sleep than talk to the coolest kid I know! Can you believe that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Kel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How you been? How was the ride?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kinda boring. I got to sleep though.”</span>
</p><p><span>“That does sound boring. Hey, you wanna come over and play some games with me tomorrow? I got one I think you’ll really like.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“Okay.”</span></p><p>
  <span>“Great! You’re gonna love it! Hey, Sunny, you know what time it is?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny looked at the clock. It was almost midnight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Past my bedtime”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s almost time for the Midnight Channel!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a rumor that started about half a year ago. They say if you watch TV at midnight, you’ll see your soulmate. Doesn’t that sound neat?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have a TV in your room?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a small box-shaped television in Sunny’s room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great! Turn it on a channel you can’t receive and wait for midnight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny turned on the television. He could only see static.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Any minute now!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel seemed very excited for some probably fake rumor. The clock struck midnight and the static started to move. It took the shape of an older woman. She looked kind of like a news reporter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“IT ACTUALLY WORKED?! Wait… Who is this chick? Guess I’m not getting a soulmate for a long time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny squinted closely to the TV. He didn’t recognize the person but was very intrigued. Without thinking, he reached for the television. Instead of feeling the screen of the TV, his hand passed through it like water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uhhh Kel…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So Sunny… Who did you get? Ooh, was it Aubrey?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kel- What?! No! It was some news girl, but-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Strange. My soulmate looks like a news reporter as well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kel my hand is inside the TV”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What does that even mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I touched the TV-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoaaa this is so weird. I didn’t know they made TVs like this. Hey Sun- AHHG”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kel? Kel!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel did not respond. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why did he scream? What the hell is going on with the TV? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sunny was shivering. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What if he… fell inside the TV… oh no… </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sunny tried putting his head inside the television, and it worked. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This is a really bad idea.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sunny was small enough that he could just barely fit inside the old television. He completely entered the TV passed out. When he awoke, it appeared he was at the crosswalk in the middle of Faraway Town, but something was off. This Faraway Town had some malicious aura to it. Was it really Faraway Town?</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It seems like people liked my first chapter. I was really nervous about posting it since I've never done anything like this before. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have made a project this big be my first fanfiction. I do enjoy writing this, and I'm excited to see what everybody thinks of the rest of the story.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Awakening</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter was much longer than I expected it to be. I guess that happens when important stuff goes down. I hope you all enjoy it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Is this place Headspace? It feels more like Blackspace…</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Sunny hadn’t remembered falling asleep. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe I passed out? Even if this is a dream, I should probably still find Kel.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He decided to start his search at Kel’s house. The air sent a shiver down Sunny’s spine. Wherever he was, he never wanted to return. It may have looked like Faraway, but it definitely wasn’t. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>This is like if Faraway was in a horror movie… This fog is terrible…</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny eventually stumbled on Kel’s house. What was usually an easy task was made more difficult by the immense fog. Sunny knocked on the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kel?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The door slowly opened, but no one was behind it. Sunny stepped into the strange version of Kel’s house. All the furniture was knocked over and broken. It looked like there was a tornado in the living room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you here Kel?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sunny?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are you?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Kel ran out of what should have been his kitchen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sunny! Thank gosh you’re here!” he exclaimed while wrapping his arms around Sunny. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kel, Is everything okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Something is weird. I woke up on the floor and everything was red. I came downstairs and no one was home and everything is a mess. If my mom sees this she would kill me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny scanned the area. They were definitely not in Faraway. He grabbed Kel’s sleeve and pulled him towards the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s get out of here.” Kel nodded. Sunny tried turning the door handle but the door would not open. They heard a voice that sounded very similar to Kel’s behind them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Going somewhere?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny and Kel turned around to see… </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Kel? It can’t be… Kel’s right next to me?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The strange doppelganger looked like Kel, but his eyes were full of malice. There was also some strange blue smoke coming off of the other Kel’s body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You look like me! You can’t be me, I’m me!” Kel put his hand to his forehead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The fake Kel walked up to the real Kel and smirked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How does it feel to know no one needs you?” The fake Kel asked. His voice had none of the enthusiasm that Kel’s normal voice had. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“W-what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How does it feel to be worthless? Everybody only tolerates us…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel shivered. He was visibly upset by what the fake Kel was saying. Sunny made a grave realization.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>This guy is acting just like Omori… Does Kel have his own Omori?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> <span>The fake Kel laughed. “We have been worthless since before we were born! People only hang around us because of Hero!”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not true…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know it’s true. We have no friends. We are unneeded.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop saying these things! I have friends! Sunny is right here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you really think Sunny cares about us?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sunny definitely cares about me. I don’t think he cares about you though”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We are the same… He doesn’t care about either of us!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not true! I am NOT you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The fake Kel laughed. His voice became even more distorted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s right, dumbass. I’m not you! I’m my own man!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An explosion of light emerged from the fake Kel’s body. What took its place was a large frog-like creature. Kel fell to the ground and Sunny to his knees.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill all of you! Worthless trash!” The monster laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny’s got a sharp pain in his head. He had these headaches before, but this was the worst possible time to have one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>N-no… not now…</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He clutched his head. The pain was so intense he could not open his eyes. In his mind, he saw someone standing in front of him. It was Omori.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You… get out of my mind!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Omori stood there with his permanent emotionless face. However, he somehow felt like he wasn’t a threat. The last time Sunny had encountered Omori, it almost killed him. Omori spoke to Sunny,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have grown since our last meeting. You have gained an unusual power. Use it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Unusual power? What?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Omori’s body disappeared and a blue card took its place. There was a depiction of a man with a dog behind him and there was a “0” at the bottom of the card. Sunny grabbed it and immediately opened his eyes. He stood in front of the monster that had emerged from the fake Kel. Sunny felt some power coursing through his veins. An unknown voice spoke in Sunny’s mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thou art I... and I am thou… Call my name and gain unlimited power…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny raised his hand to the air and shouted the word that had appeared in his mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“PERSONA!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A tall entity in a black robe appeared behind Sunny. It had a large spear that it pointed at the monster.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is that!” Kel exclaimed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny pointed at what used to be Kel’s doppelganger. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Izanagi!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A burst of lightning came from the being’s spear and hit the monster. The monster fell on its back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What a pain in the ass” the monster grumbled. It got back on its feet and swiped at Sunny. Normally, Sunny would have run away by now, but he felt different. Whether it was that he felt stronger or that he had to protect Kel, Sunny knew he had to stand and fight. When attacked, Sunny felt it hurt less than it should have. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Izanagi! End it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another bolt of lightning came out of the powerful being and struck the monster. It stopped moving. Sunny ran over to Kel’s side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you alright?” Sunny asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think so…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny helped Kel up and they looked at the monster, who had turned back into its original Kel shape.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know Sunny…” Kel began. He seemed sad, unusually sad. Kel was never sad. “This… thing… was right about me. Sometimes I do feel like… I’m not good enough.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny put his hand over his mouth. When feeling really upset, his mouth gave it away the most, and Sunny didn’t want people to notice he was upset. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel continued, “It’s just hard being a middle child. Everybody looks up to Hero and I feel like I get left behind.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kel… you said we would always be friends, and I intend to keep it that way. Also, you aren’t ‘trash’. You came to my house and… saved me… If you hadn’t saved me, who knows where I’d be.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny wrapped his arms around Kel. He had never been the one to initiate embrace with his friends, but he felt like this time was different.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Sunny.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a silence between them until Sunny broke away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should probably get out of here.” Sunny suggested. They both exited the fake Kel’s house.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So how do we get out of here?” Kel asked. Neither of them had thought this far ahead. They both walked around aimlessly hoping to find something that seemed important. They would eventually run into someone familiar. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My archnemesis, Kel. Why am I not surprised you are here. I am actually quite surprised you are here.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mikhael? What are you doing here?” Kel asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I could ask you the same thing. While I’m at it, I could also ask you to refer to me by my REAL name, THE MAVERICK!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you fall in your TV too?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael stood in silence. He appeared to be staring at Sunny and Kel. It was hard for them to tell because a big stupid wig was in the way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fall into the TV? How do you fall into a TV? It takes WORK to enter and exit TVs. Well, I guess you and knife-boy are quite stupid, so theoretically it is possible to fall into a TV.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Knife-boy? Why does he remember that? Does everyone think of me like that?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel put his hand to his chin. “Can I ask you a question? Actually, can I ask you two questions? ACTUALLY actually, can I ask you like a hundred questions?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael chuckled, “Just this once, I will furnish you with my extreme wisdom.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel stood there thinking of something to ask. To be fair so much had happened in the past hour. Sunny decided to ask a question of his own.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What was that thing I fought, and what was that thing behind me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael’s smug face disappeared. </span>
</p>
<p><span>“You fought a shadow? You have a persona? YOU?” he asked. His tone indicated he was in shock at what Sunny had asked. </span><span><br/>
</span> <span>“</span><em><span>A persona? That’s what I called out when it appeared… I have a persona?</span></em><span>”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny asked another question. “What are shadows and what are personas?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael bit his lip. It looked like he was still in disbelief of what Sunny had asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shadows and Persona are a manifestation of one’s heart. They’re kinda like different sides of the same coin. If you defeat your own shadow, you have the potential to use a persona.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel’s face lit up. “YO! Do I have one of those now? That guy Sunny beat seemed kinda shadowy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was so much disbelief in Mikhael that he stepped back, almost tripping over nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That happened?! Knifey has a persona AND beat a shadow? I really have to reevaluate my opinion of him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel piped in, asking “How do we get out of here? All this is cool and stuff, but I would really like to get out of here and see my family again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course! You two had just joined my list of ‘people who are kinda cool’ so I’ll show you anything you wanna see.” Mikhael answered smugly. He leads them into the street. There was a silence between the three of them while Mikhael walked to the supposed exit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Mik-... ‘The Maverick’... How do you know all this stuff?” Sunny asked quietly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I come here quite a lot. It’s how I get all my awesome powers to sense evil presences. Anyways, here’s the exit to this ‘TV world’.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They had arrived at a pile of TVs in the middle of what appeared to be a stage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go through one of these bad boys and we’ll be right in the middle of the Othermart electronics section!” Mikhael said proudly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Othermart had an electronics section?” Sunny asked. He had not been to Othermart in about a year and didn’t hear of any changes to it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, they got rid of the candy store and replaced it with an electronics department. It’s a bit sad…” Kel told.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess.” Sunny shrugged. Truthfully, he was thinking “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Thank god they got rid of that place. I can’t stand that ‘Miss Candice’ wench</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel stuck a leg into the TV. “You coming too, Mikhael?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think I’ll stay here a little longer… you go ahead.” Kel and Sunny exited the TV world. Luckily, it was past midnight and the only people in the store were the three people working there. Kel and Sunny both snuck back into their respective homes. Sunny went straight to bed without even changing his clothes. Who knew fighting a supernatural monster could make you tired? Sunny closed his eyes and immediately went to sleep.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny opened his eyes and was greeted by a familiar long nose man.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Welcome back to the Velvet Room. You seem to have gained some new powers since our last meeting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just who are you? What’s going on with the TV?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You will learn in time. You must keep your faith. Most importantly, you must have faith in your friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I don’t know what this place is… I just want to spend time with my friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Igor closed his eyes. Did he feel bad for Sunny?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Life is not fair to anyone, but it appears that life has been acting most unfair to you. I trust you will make it through all these challenges. You, my boy, are strong.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What does that mean? What does any of this mean? What’s so important about me?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Crime Scene</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sunny awoke to the sound of his phone ringing. He checked the time and found that it was 1:13 PM. Not being fully awake, he accidentally answered the phone. He was greeted by someone who sounded rather angry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where the hell are you?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aubrey? Good morning!” Sunny said cheerfully, still not fully awake.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey sighed. “You slept in, huh. Kel did too… You weren’t out partying with him last night, were you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, Kel and I were…” Sunny eye widened. He was fully awake now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t believe you and Kel hung out without me. I’m hurt.” Aubrey said jokingly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not… we weren’t… uhh” Sunny tripped over his words trying to explain what happened the day before. Honestly, he still doesn’t fully understand what happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah yeah… get over here already”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh… where are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The park, dummy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, okay…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny decided to head straight for the park. He had gone to bed so quickly he hadn’t even taken off his eyepatch. On the way out the door, he passed by Nanako.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good morning Sunny,” Nanako said. She seemed somewhat cheerful.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Morning. I’m going to go out... where’s Ryotaro?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dad left early, he said he had ‘urgent work’ he needed to do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where does he work?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My dad is a police officer!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, he’s probably doing something important then… Will you be alright?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny thought about letting Nanako come with him. A part of him didn’t want to leave her alone, but another part of him didn’t want to babysit. Nanako must have known what Sunny was thinking about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m okay on my own. Dad can’t come home sometimes and I know how to do a lot of big girl stuff!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny nodded and left the house. What he was doing was fine… probably.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*********</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny arrived at Faraway Park. It looked mostly the same as the last time he saw it. He spotted Aubrey and Kim sitting at a picnic table. Aubrey’s hair stood out, Sunny could spot her from a mile away. Sunny walked up to the table and sat next to Aubrey without saying anything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look who finally decided to show up,” Aubrey said while playfully punching Sunny.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s one loser, where’s the other?” Kim asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny shrugged. He looked around the park to see if he could spot Kel but to no avail. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I kinda thought he would be here already,” Sunny said while continuing to scan the area.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey put her hands behind her head. She looked very relaxed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So what’d you and Kel do yesterday? Something devious, I bet” Aubrey smirked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kim’s eyes widened. “You were chilling with Kel yesterday? So that’s why he didn’t answer my texts…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why were you talking to Kel?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So I could call him a moron.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny didn’t really know how to explain what happened the day before, not that anyone would believe him. Luckily for him, Kel showed up at that moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sup, gamers! Fashionably late, am I right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey sighed. “You’re so fucking stupid.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll never guess what me and my man Sunny did last night! It was crazy!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny really hoped Kel wouldn’t bring that misadventure up. He just sighed and put his head in his hands. Kel retold the story rather poorly, failing to mention important details such as how Sunny did all the work and how Mikhael brought them to safety. Aubrey and Kim had the most confused look on their faces. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What a lovely story,” Aubrey said sarcastically, “Did you have anything to drink too, Sunny?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… uh… we didn’t drink anything…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, Kel was obviously on something. I couldn’t make a batshit story like that if I tried”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny wanted to change the topic of conversation very badly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So… I’m going to be here until the end of senior year. I’m gonna be able to graduate with you guys…” Sunny said</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel’s face lit up, “That long! We’re not even our senior year yet!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but we will be soon. It’s almost time for summer break.” Kim added. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah… it’s kinda weird transferring so late in the year.” Sunny said quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s school like in the city?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Too many people… don’t like it…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know how that feels, I hate people!” Kim said proudly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re not bad, just-” Sunny started, but something caught his eye. He saw someone poorly hiding behind a tree. It seemed as if he was spying on the gang. Aubrey, Kel, and Kim tried to find what had caught Sunny’s attention.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh, him again?!” Aubrey grunted. “Fuck off, Mitsuo!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The person looked startled. He began waddling towards their table. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aubrey! I didn’t know you were here?” He said, trying to act smooth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up, stalker. Get out of here before I break your nose!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No need to get violent! I just wanted to know if you would come over to my place and play some games… If you get cold you could cuddle with me…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Broken nose it is!” Aubrey grabbed her nail bat that was apparently under the table and started to stand up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mitsuo started to tremble, and muttered “You don’t know what you’re missing out on!” followed by something in Japanese. To everyone’s surprise, Sunny responded to him in Japanese. There was much shock on Mitsuo’s face, and he ran away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whoa, Sunny, where’d you learn Japanese?” Kim asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m… like… half Japanese.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve known you for how long and I’ve never known that? How?” Kel asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess it’s never been brought up… I’m pretty sure Hero knows though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey smiled deviously. “What did that loser say? Also, what did you say to him? Also, how do I say ‘eat shit’ in Japanese?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He called you a slut. I told him ‘get lost, pervert’.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey motioned for Sunny to answer her final question. He just sighed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kitto katsu” (Translates to “You will surely win.” This saying is related to good luck)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw hell yeah! Hey Kel, kitto katsu!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now why’d you do that, Sunny?” Kel whined. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny sighed. Once again, he had to save the day and change the subject.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Basil isn’t here… did you tell him we would be here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s probably at work,” Kel answered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, Basil has a job?” It was apparent to Sunny that much had changed in the time since he moved. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, he works at Fix-It. We can go see him if you want.” Aubrey suggested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah… we should. I haven't seen him yet…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The group got up and made their way to Faraway Plaza. That is until they ran into a bunch of police tape and officers. None of them had even noticed any commotion coming from that area.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s going on here?” Kim asked, not expecting an answer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Looks annoying. I’ll find a way around all this crap.” Aubrey said while walking away from the group.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Police tape everywhere? Is this why Ryotaro had to leave so early?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” The question in Sunny’s head was quickly answered when the man himself walked up to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you kids doing here! Leave this to- Sunny? What are you doing here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We were trying to go to the plaza. Sorry…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well go around! Don’t get involved in this!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel looked confused. “You know this guy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s my uncle…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ryotaro waved over a carefree-looking man to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Adachi, can you lead these kids to the plaza? We can’t have them standing around here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure thing, boss.” The carefree man said, signaling the kids to follow him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey wait, where’s Aubrey?” Kel asked. Aubrey had not returned since she had left to find a way around the commotion. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll probably run into your friend later. By the way, I’m Tohru Adachi, but everybody just calls me Adachi.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Adachi, what’s all going on here?” Kim asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know if I can tell you. Confidential information, you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bummer… Vance loves hearing about all this ‘crime drama’.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well… maybe it won’t be so bad. You see… someone was murdered…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An audible gasp came from the kids.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Murdered… oh no… oh gosh…</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Sunny started to shiver. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“W-what happened?” Kel asked nervously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Her body was found suspended from a telephone pole. Say, I have her ID on me. She’s a TV reporter, maybe you’ve seen her before?” Adachi pulled a driver's license out of his pocket. Pictured was a woman who looked somewhat familiar. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… kinda recognize her? I don’t remember where though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably the news, if I were to guess. Honestly, I don’t think I was supposed to tell you all this. You know what, just forget everything I said.” Adachi quickly stuffed the ID back in his pocket. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, there’s Aubrey!” Kim exclaimed. Aubrey was yelling at someone who was holding a camera in her face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aubrey’s on TV! We better go save her before she embarrasses herself.” Kel suggested. They ran over to Aubrey. She noticed them approaching her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There are my friends, I gotta go. As much as I just ‘adore’ being on TV, I think I’m gonna peace out.” She ran over to meet her friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened?” Sunny asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Some dude just came up to me and put a camera in my face. Apparently, there was a murder scene here and he was asking me how I felt. I didn’t really feel anything but being on TV is cool… until they keep asking stupid questions.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, Adachi told us there was a murder here too,” Kel said, pointing at Adachi behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Adachi? Who’s that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The guy right behi- oh… he’s gone.” Kel hadn’t realized that Adachi had gone back to work. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How about we go and see if Basil is at work…” Sunny suggested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, that’s what we’ve been trying to do!” Kim said, raising a hand to her chin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The group, past all congestion in the road, made their way to Fix-It. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading. If you ever want to contact me for some strange reason, I'm on the Omori Discord with the same username. I'm usually posting unfunny memes in #humphrey. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Calm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The bell rang as the group opened the door to Fix-It. They found Basil engrossed in his work, stocking shelves with various gardening tools. Sunny decided to directly approach Basil.</p>
<p>“Hi, Basil. “Sunny said cheerfully.</p>
<p>“Sunny! You’re here!” Basil carefully placed down all the gardening equipment and ran to hug Sunny.</p>
<p>“Everyone else is here too! Tell you what, I get off in like fifteen minutes. We should all go to Ginos and eat, my treat… if you want to…” </p>
<p>Kel’s face lit up. “That sounds like a GREAT idea! Everybody else agrees! We’ll see you there.” The gang minus Basil made their way to Ginos and got a table for five. </p>
<p>“Aw yeah, pizza! I don’t even have to pay for it.” Kel seemed excited.</p>
<p>“I’m going to the bathroom. Don’t kill anyone without me.” Aubrey said while leaving the table. </p>
<p>“You know Sunny, something’s been bothering me…” Kel said while playing with a fork he obviously wasn’t going to use for the pizza.</p>
<p>“What’s that?”</p>
<p>“That picture the police guy showed us… It looked like who we saw on the midnight channel.”</p>
<p>“You guys watched the midnight channel!” Kim blurted out, immediately covering her mouth.</p>
<p>“Yeah yeah, call me a loser Kim…” Kel sighed.</p>
<p>“No… It’s that… I watched it too last night…”</p>
<p>Kel’s jaw dropped. “YOU? You watch the midnight channel?!”</p>
<p>“Shush! Nobody needs to know I do loser things sometimes. It was bad enough when you asked me to join your Minecraft server.”</p>
<p>“What’s wrong with my Minecraft server?”</p>
<p>Kim sighed and shook her head. “Anyways… The girl on the midnight channel looked EXACTLY like the picture policeman showed us.”</p>
<p>Sunny put his hand on his chin, as if to stroke a beard that wasn’t there. He had never been able to grow facial hair. </p>
<p>“Why was she on the TV? Why did she die the next day?” Sunny thought out loud.</p>
<p>Kim shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe it really is a cursed channel. Guess we aren’t gonna find out who’s our soulmates…” Kim smirked deviously at Sunny. “Not like we don’t already know who Sunny’s soulmate is…”</p>
<p>Sunny blushed and his eye shot open. Kel looked at both of them and smiled.</p>
<p>“Yeahhhh we DO know who Sunny likes,” Kel said, trying to antagonize Sunny.</p>
<p>“W-what? I-I don’t… I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Sunny said nervously. His stutter did not help him defend himself. </p>
<p>“You don’t have to lie to us… You were probably hoping Aubrey would show up on your TV, weren’t you?” Kim teased.</p>
<p>Truth be told, Sunny had hoped Aubrey would appear as his soulmate. He hid his face in embarrassment. Fortunately for Sunny, Aubrey had just gotten back to the table.</p>
<p>“What are you two smiling about?” Aubrey asked, raising an eyebrow. </p>
<p>“Oh… nothing…” Kim replied with a smile. “Say, when is Basil getting here?”</p>
<p>Kel looked at a clock on the wall, “Looks like he should be here any minute now.” As if on cue, Basil entered the room at that moment. </p>
<p>“Hey, guys. Sorry for making you wait.” Basil apologized. </p>
<p>“Apology NOT accepted. How dare you have a job!” Aubrey joked.</p>
<p>“Fine then. You can pay for the food.”<br/>“NO! Aubrey, say you’re sorry!” Kel yelled. He really felt like Aubrey’s joke would cost him his free food. The group caught up on what they had been doing since the day Sunny moved. He told them about the city and what life was like there. </p>
<p>“I saw a movie once where the city had a black smog around it at all times, is it really like that?” Kim asked.</p>
<p>“No, I can see the sky…”</p>
<p>“I guess it wouldn’t really matter. I mean, you ARE the ‘sun’ after all.” Kim said, looking rather proud of herself for that one.</p>
<p>“Don’t do that.”</p>
<p>Kel slapped Kim on the back, “Sunny doesn’t like it when you use his name as a pun.” </p>
<p>“Ohoho! I’ll keep that in mind.” Kim looked devious, as usual. The gang talked about various other topics until they finished eating. They would eventually notice that the sun had gone down and decide to go home. </p>
<p>“My mom is gonna be MAD! I gotta get home quick! I’ll see you all tomorrow!” Kel ran towards his home, leaving everyone else behind. Ryotaro’s house was west of Faraway Park, so he and the rest would split paths at the intersection. However, Aubrey did not walk home. She followed Sunny for a little bit longer.</p>
<p>“Your house is that way… Did you forget?” Sunny chuckled. Aubrey looked down to her feet. Sunny immediately felt bad.</p>
<p>“Things still suck at home?</p>
<p>“Yeah…”</p>
<p>“You wanna talk about it?</p>
<p>Aubrey didn’t respond. Her hair was covering her face, but Sunny could tell what she was feeling.</p>
<p>“Wanna sit on the swings with me?” Sunny asked. Aubrey returned a small nod. They walked over to the swings, the spot where Sunny learned so much about Aubrey’s life, her woes, her feelings. A very sacred place for the both of them. They sat in silence for a little while. Sunny rocked himself back and forth on the swing while Aubrey sat still. Sunny wanted to break the silence but didn’t know what to say. After what felt like an eternity, Aubrey finally spoke,</p>
<p>“My mom… she’s even worse than before.”</p>
<p>“Are you okay?”</p>
<p>“I’m fine… she keeps bringing home strangers. I hate it when she does that… I hate her…”</p>
<p>“Is there anything I can do to help?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know…”</p>
<p>Sunny felt powerless. He hated seeing Aubrey upset. He wanted to do anything in his power to make her happy, but he couldn’t do anything. She turned to him and gave a sad smile.</p>
<p>“Well… If you do ever need something, anything, I’ll always do my best to help.” Sunny said with a sympathetic smile. </p>
<p>“You know… I’m so happy you’re back. I feel like you’re the only person who really listens to me.”</p>
<p>“W-what about Kim... or Kel... or Basil?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know. I just feel… safer around you, I guess”</p>
<p>Sunny blushed and looked away to hide it.</p>
<p>“<em>Why would she feel safe around me, a murderer? </em>”</p>
<p>Aubrey stood up from her swing. She extended a hand to help Sunny up. To his surprise, Aubrey pulled him into a small hug. </p>
<p>“You’re a good person, Sunny. Don’t let anything tell you differently.” Sunny felt a warm and fuzzy feeling inside.</p>
<p>“Well, you’re probably tired from your crazy party with Kel last night, I should probably let you go.”</p>
<p>“<em>Please never let go </em>”</p>
<p>“See you tomorrow, Sunny.”<br/>“See you tomorrow…”</p>
<p>Sunny watched as Aubrey walked towards her house. He desperately wished that she could be happy and that everything would be okay. He slowly walked home. The only thing on his mind was Aubrey.</p>
<p>Sunny entered his house to find a dazed Ryotaro sitting next to Nanako and Adachi. It looked like Ryotaro had been drinking.</p>
<p>“Adachi? What are you doing here?” Sunny asked.</p>
<p>“Ah, Sunny! Your ol’ uncle and I went out for a few drinks after we finished work. Looks like he had more than a few, don’t you think? Anyways I had to bring him home.” </p>
<p>“Dad is going to need to go to bed early!” Nanako added.</p>
<p>“It’s not that bad!” Ryotaro slurred. </p>
<p>Sunny decided to ignore what could become a problem and went to his room. He spent the rest of the night playing on the PS1 he brought. He played all night and lost track of time. The clock struck midnight and the channel changed from the game he was playing to the midnight channel.</p>
<p>“God damn it!” Sunny yelled while punching the ground. He instantly regretted it, as he hoped he didn’t wake anyone up. Sunny sighed and closely inspected the TV. The image was much blurrier than the night before, and Sunny’s poor vision didn’t help him. After inspecting it closely, he could only make out that whoever it was had long hair. </p>
<p>“<em>Who is this? It kinda sounds like they’re talking too, but what are they saying? </em>” He eventually decided to ignore it and go to bed. He would be able to sleep in pajamas today since he wasn’t tired out from traveling to another world. He opened up one of his suitcases labeled “Friends” to find many stuffed animals.</p>
<p>“<em>Now, which one of you will have the HONOR of sleeping with me? </em>”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Storm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sunny woke up at the bright and early time of 11:08 AM. He didn’t feel like moving so he instead put headphones in and listened to music so loud it would probably lead to permanent hearing damage while staring at the ceiling. He was soon interrupted from his dissociation by a text.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>APRIL 13th, 20XX. 11:12</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel&gt; Added Kim to the group</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel&gt; Let’s all hang out today. Don’t wanna let the last Saturday of spring break go to waste.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim&gt; Whatever you say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Basil&gt; Work today.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel was right. He had arrived in Faraway during spring break. There were only two days left until school started again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I wonder if anyone at school will recognize me…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel&gt; Sunny? Aubrey? You in??????</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny&gt; I’ll be there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel&gt; Aubrey Aubrey Aubrey???????</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim&gt; Give the girl some room! We’ll see her when we see her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny got dressed and left the house. He waved to Nanako and Ryotaro.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t stay out too late, you hear me?” Ryotaro asserted. Sunny nodded and left the house. He put in his headphones and walked towards Faraway Park. When he arrived, only Kim was present.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Kim.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yo, Sunny! What’s groovin’?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“W-what’s groovin’? What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim sighed, “You’re so lame.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah, I’m the lame one…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, give me your phone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim snatched Sunny’s phone from his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“W-what are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m putting my number in it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim gave Sunny back his phone. The contact “Kim (the sexy one)” was added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you can remember which one’s me,” Kim smirked. “Say, you see Kel or Aubrey on the way here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. I thought they were already here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn. I’mma call Kel. Knowing him, he probably forgot about the plans HE made.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim pulled out her phone. It was much nicer than Sunny’s old flip phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kel where are you?... What? Why?... Why would we do that?... Fine.” Sunny couldn’t really hear Kel, but he could tell that Kim hung up on him mid-sentence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s at Aubrey’s house. He asked us to go see him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hell if I know. He better not be bothering her.” The two of them left for Aubrey's house. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They arrived to find Kel standing in front of an open door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you just wanted to show us you were trespassing?” Kim accused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel jumped. He was obviously startled by the two of them sneaking up on him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t spook me like that! Besides, the door was open when I got here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim looked concerned. “Why would her door be wide open?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I’m saying! Anyways, let's go inside and find her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you called us over so we could break and enter?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s only entering. Plus, it’s not the first time we’ve entered her house uninvited, right Sunny?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny sighed, “Please don’t bring that up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah! That was a year ago! Heh, I told you to do that.” Kim chuckled sheepishly. Kel and Kim entered Aubrey’s house, and Sunny reluctantly followed. He hated the state her house was in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aubrey! Are you home?” Kel yelled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No class…” Kim shook her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Aubrey isn’t exactly the classiest person.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be rude.” Sunny muttered.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They found Aubrey’s mom sleeping on the couch. The TV was on, but it only played static. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Better not wake her.” Kim cautioned. They entered the hallway and Kel started to climb the ladder into Aubrey’s room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it would be better if I entered first,” Kim suggested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do I have to spell it out for you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel looked at Sunny, who just shook his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ughhh fine. I don’t see what the problem is though.” Kel jumped off the ladder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll know when you’re older,” Kim smirked while climbing up the ladder. “I’ll tell you if it’s fine to come up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim reached the top of the ladder and had fully entered Aubrey’s room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Aubergine… Wakey wakey! What the fuck?” could be heard from the room above. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds like our cue,” Kel said impatiently. The boys climbed the ladder to find Kim… all alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never said you could enter! Not that it matters, Aubrey isn’t here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe she’s somewhere else… and forgot to close the door…” Sunny said nervously. He had a terrible habit of always assuming the worst. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What bothers me is her bat is still here. She brings that thing everywhere.” Kim said, putting a hand to her chin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please be alright…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of the day was rather uneventful. While Kel and Kim seemed for the most part unconcerned, Sunny couldn’t stop worrying about Aubrey. He returned to his Uncle's house and found Nanako sitting in the living room watching TV.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sunny! Can you play with me?” Nanako said cheerfully. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… yeah, I can…” Sunny agreed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I should take my mind off things too… she’s probably fine… please be okay…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nanako showed Sunny all the toys she was playing with. Sunny enjoyed playing with toys, he liked being able to create and act out his own adventures. Nanako explained all the deep backstory and lore to what she was doing, well, deep for a six-year-old. Out of the corner of Sunny’s eye, he saw some familiar pink hair on the TV. His line of sight shot over to see what was happening. He instantly recognized what was happening, it was the interview that Aubrey had the day before. Nanako looked at the TV as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They showed this news yesterday night. That lady says bad words.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not to anyone’s surprise, the Aubrey on the TV did say bad words</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t know there was a ****ing murder here!” The Aubrey on the TV yelled</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dad doesn’t like it when people on the TV say bad words. He says only he can say bad words.” Nanako said while changing the channel. They both heard a catchy tune,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Every day’s great at your Other-Mart!” The TV sang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooh! I love this song!” Nanako cheered. “Na-na-na-na-na-na-other-mart!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I’m gonna go to bed…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Goodnight!”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny went up to his room. He couldn’t fall asleep. The question of where Aubrey was kept racing through his mind. It felt like hours had passed and he still couldn’t fall asleep. Sunny checked the time on his phone, 11:59 PM. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I should check the midnight channel… just in case…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny turned on the TV. As the clock turned 12:00, the static started to turn into something visible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t be Aubrey. Please don’t be Aubrey. Please don’t be Aubrey”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The person who showed up on the TV… was Aubrey. Instead of her usual “punk” clothing, she wore a huge pink dress and a tiara. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hellooooo! Princess Aubrey here! Today, a BRAVE PRINCE CHARMING will come and save me! I am SOOOOOO helpless! I just need a HOT STUD to come and save little ol’ me! Don’t leave me waiting!!!! I just NEED someone to whisk me off my feet!!! Please come and save me from my terrible life!!!!!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The TV turned itself off. Sunny stood there in absolute shock. His mouth was agape and he felt a sharp pain in his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>This can’t be true. No… Aubrey wouldn’t say stuff like that… She’s strong… She doesn’t need…. No… NO… I’m dreaming… I must be…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny’s phone rang. He answered without checking who it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What.” He answered rather angrily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sunny? It’s Kel. Please tell me you just watched-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny’s breathing was heavy and labored. He was on the verge of breaking down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was up with that? It sure looked like Aubrey but she was saying some weird stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aubrey is going to die.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sunny, calm down. We need to think about this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aubrey is going to die.” Sunny started to choke up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please calm down. We can do something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? What can we do!?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a silence for a bit. Kel was obviously trying to think of anything they could do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, remember when you went into the TV to save me? What if we go in and save Aubrey?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And how do we do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We go into the TV and find her! We’ll do it first thing tomorrow. I’ll call over Mikhael, he seems to know a lot about that world.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if she’s not there? We didn’t see the girl who got killed yesterday in there!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you weren’t looking for her. You were looking for me… Look, please trust me. We WILL save Aubrey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny didn’t respond. He didn’t know what to say. He was scared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You there, Sun?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… Okay… We’ll go look for her tomorrow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright. Try to get some rest, okay? If we’re going back to that scary world, we’ll need it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Kel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What for?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry for yelling at you. I’m just…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, I understand. Get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel hung up. Sunny lied down on his bed once again in a desperate attempt to fall asleep. Aubrey still lingered on his mind. After much struggling, he eventually fell asleep. Against all odds, he did not have a nightmare. A nightmare on a night like this would have been terrible for him. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Kim's Shadow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sunny rushed out of bed and got dressed. He skipped his shower and brushing his teeth because only one thing was on his mind. He was halfway out the door when his uncle called out to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re up early, aren’t you going to eat breakfast?” Ryotaro asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… uh… I have a lot of plans today…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you’re too busy to eat?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny turned to his uncle and met his gaze. He decided not to challenge his uncle’s will.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t really eat breakfast… you have coffee?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ryotaro pointed at the coffee pot. His gaze was still aggressive. Sunny would not want to make his uncle angry. He poured himself a small cup and tried to drink it swiftly. The knife block next to the sink caught his attention. Sunny instinctively grabbed a knife and tried twirling it around his fingers. He almost immediately dropped it due to his poor hand-eye coordination. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell are you doing?” Ryotaro demanded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bumped into stuff… can’t see well…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well be careful.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny picked up the knife and pocketed it instead of putting it back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Might come in useful…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny placed his cup in the sink and darted out the door without a goodbye. He found Kel, Mikhael, and Kim at the part. Kel waved at Sunny.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Looks like someone was in a hurry,” Kim said half sarcastically. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… ran all the way… here...” Sunny said in between breaths. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kim said she’s coming with us, no matter what.” Kel sighed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you told her about that world?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kim shook her head. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny put his head in his hands. “So… what are we going to do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael jumped up from his chair and did some strange gang sign while looking rather smug. No one was amused. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I spent ALL NIGHT creating a MASTER PLAN!” Mikhael started. “What we do is HURL ourselves into a TV, find Aubrey, praise THE MAVERICK for how awesome and sexy he is, and then we live happily ever after!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do we know she’s there?!” Sunny said rather angrily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael swept the fake hair out of his eyes and gave a smug smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You put no trust in me. I entered the TV last night after Kel called me and did some reconnaissance. I definitely smelled Aubrey in there!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny winced at that phrasing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You smelled her?” Kim questioned with a disgusted look on her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, I know it sounds weird, but my schnoz works strangely in that world. You’ll see when we get there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel stood up, “Well what are we waiting for? Let's go save Aubrey!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah yes. I, THE MAVERICK, will lead you to the perfect TV to enter that world. You know the Othermart electronic section?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kim crossed her arms. “I can’t believe they got rid of the candy shop for a stinkin’ electronic section.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The four entered the Othermart electronic department. Mikhael stopped in front of a somewhat large flatscreen TV.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This shall be our entrance! Now watch and learn from the master.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael put his hand through the TV without any care for being caught. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh shit, he wasn’t lying.” Kim gasped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have never lied in my life. Now follow me, chumps!” Mikhael threw his entire body through the TV. Sunny, Kel, and Kim just stared in bewilderment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So we just jump in, huh,” Kel said somewhat nervously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What if we get caught? He was lucky no one saw him!” Kim stated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny put his finger through the TV. The screen rippled as if he put his finger in water. Kim put her finger into the TV as well. Her eyes widened in amazement. Sunny slowly put his entire hand through the screen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m coming, Aubrey</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel walked up behind the both of them,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re gonna get caught if you just stand there.” He put his hands on Sunny and Kim’s back and pushed them through the TV and immediately jumped in behind them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kel you dumbass!” Kim yelled while falling through the screen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny landed in the middle of the same stage he first left the TV world from. He looked over to find Kel lying on top of Kim.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get off of me, fatass!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, I’m not fat.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, in that case, continue to crust my ribs. Get the fuck off of me!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel and Kim’s fights were very different from Kel and Aubrey’s fights, in that Kel and Kim fights eventually ended on their own. The three stood up to find Mikhael sitting atop a TV trying to look regal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you all are done playing, I will lead you to where Aubrey is.” Mikhael jumped down and waved for everyone to follow him. “It smells like she’s in this direction!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kim looked all around the new world she was in amazement. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, you two have been here before?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, a couple of days me and Sunny fell in here and he had to save me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were cut off by Mikhael’s scream.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s a shadow here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael ran behind Sunny’s back. A strange goo-creature with a blue mask lied in front of them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sunny! Kill it! Kill it now!” Mikhael demanded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny began to pull out the knife he stole when he noticed Kel standing next to him, looking rather determined.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m gonna help you,” he said with confidence. A card appeared in Kel’s hand. It had the number I (1) on it. The magician card. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jiraiya!” Kel yelled while crushing the card in his hands. A very lanky-looking being with a red scarf appeared behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yoooo it worked! Hey Sunny, we’re persona bros!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The slime monster groaned as it charged at Sunny and Kel. Sunny put his middle finger to the bridge of his nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come, Izanagi!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While this had been only the second time Sunny had summoned a persona, he always felt some pain in his head when it appeared. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael put both his hands to his cheeks, “No way! Two persona users!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kim’s face had some mixture of shock and fear. Was all this information too much for her to handle? Sunny pulled out his knife and threw it up in the air. He miraculously caught it without getting hurt despite his bad hand-eye coordination. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Kel, ready to kick some ass?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny did not feel scared, he actually felt rather determined. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You got it, dude!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel waved his arm towards the slime monster. The being behind him shot a gust of wind, which looked like it really hurt the monster. Before the monster could retaliate, Sunny jumped up and plunged his knife through the monster’s mask. It disappeared with a burst of smoke and a fairy-like creature appeared in its spot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey there, sexy. Thanks for getting rid of that </span>
  <em>
    <span>Cowardly Maya</span>
  </em>
  <span>. How about you and I get out of here? By the way, my name’s Pixie.” The fairy said seductively.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny’s face grew red, “I… Uh… I-I have… I’m kinda busy right now.” He had lost all composure from the fight before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Awww, well is it okay if little ol’ me tags along?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kim ran up and pushed Sunny out of the way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw hell yeah! My turn to get a… what are they called? Pentagram? Persona!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Pixie pouted. “I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to the hot one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You aren’t even a wild card!” The Pixie looked towards Sunny. “Call me if you need me.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It flew into Sunny’s chest and disappeared. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What was that all about?” Kel asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I think I got another persona.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A geez, how come Sunny gets TWO personas?” Kim whined. The three looked to Mikhael for an answer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Beats me. This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this. I don’t even know what a wildcard is!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>******************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The four arrived at the front of a large castle. The gate was closed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This looks like the place Aubrey was on the TV last night!” Kel exclaimed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think that was really Aubrey? She’s never said stuff like that before…” Kim said nervously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A strange voice came from behind the castle gates. It sounded very similar to Kim’s.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes… because we are the one who knows everything about Aubrey.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The gate slowly opened revealing someone who looked almost exactly like Kim. The only difference was the fake Kim’s face was blank.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“W-what? That looks like... me?” Kim shivered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh no, it’s her shadow!” Mikhael said, trying not to show any nervousness. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Shadow Kim laughed, “Everything in our life is just ‘Aubrey, Aubrey, Aubrey.’ How would we survive without her?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aubrey always had friends and I didn’t. Was that fair? No! That’s why we had to befriend her at the lowest point of her life! How sad is that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kim, don’t listen to it!” Sunny yelled out. He felt as if Kim ignored him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kim shook her fist, “Shut up, bitch! You don’t know anything about me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s right, we’re a bitch. A worthless bitch. The second Aubrey’s old friends came back, she left us. Why would anyone want to be friends with us? Once Vance leaves for college, we’ll be truly alone. Forgotten. Do you want to know the best part? No one will care.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No… That’s not true! You’re wrong!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How can I be wrong? We are the same! I know everything about you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! You know nothing about me! I’m not you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shadow Kim started to laugh. A blue flame engulfed its body. Sunny brandished his knife at what Shadow Kim had turned into. It took the form of a large woman with tentacles for fingers. It sat on top of a pile of people who looked similar to the hooligans.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am a shadow, the true self!” Shadow Kim bellowed. “I exist to be used by Aubrey and then thrown out! You think you can save the real me?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mikhael, get Kim to a safe place!” Sunny commanded. Mikhael grabbed Kim by the arms and pulled her away from Shadow Kim. Sunny and Kel stood in front of Kim’s shadow. It swiped its whip-like fingers at the boys, knocking them down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sunny, what are we going to do?” Kel shuddered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny examined Shadow Kim. The woman sitting at the top looked like it could easily lose its balance and fall over.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Make your persona do the wind thing. It might fall over. After that, we both jump on it for an all-out attack.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think I can stand up…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something in Sunny’s heart felt strange. He clutched his head and the Pixie from earlier appeared in front of him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, good looking. You look like you’re hurt. I’ll fix that up for you.” The Pixie waved its arms and yelled “DIA!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whoa! I feel like I just drank a whole bottle of Orange Joe! This is awesome!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel jumped up and cast a wind attack. As Sunny predicted, the pile of hooligans toppled over and Shadow Kim with it. Sunny nodded to Kel and they both charged. Shadow Kim had taken a sizable amount of damage. The monster looked angry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bastards! Use me, you bastards! And when you’re done, throw me away like the garbage I am!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny made an observation of Kim’s shadow, noting that what it said didn’t match its image.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>It says it wants to be used, but it looks like it’s taking advantage of all her friends. Does Kim feel like she’s taking advantage of her friends while not being needed by them?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny didn’t know Kim too well, so he didn’t know what she was truly feeling. Kel, on the other hand, looked sorrowful. Sunny couldn’t tell if it was because he was hurt by Kim’s true feelings or if he wanted to remove Kim’s pains. Either way, they had to take down the shadow. Kim’s shadow extended its arms and a green wall appeared in front of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See if you can make it through here!” it chuckled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel cast another wind attack. This time, it failed to affect the shadow whatsoever. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shadow Kim laughed maniacally, “What’d you think that wall was for, dumbass?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel put his hands to his face, “She blocked our shot! What are we gonna do now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael jumped up and down waving his arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sunny! Try piercing its defense with Izanagi! Are you able to charge an attack?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny called out Izanagi’s name, immediately followed by the word “Tarukaja,” and he felt a wave of power wash over him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What’s this? What’s a ‘tarukaja’? Why do I feel stronger?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Sunny soon realized he had no time to think when Shadow Kim charged at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sunny look out!” Kel yelled. He jumped into Sunny, pushing him out of the way. Kel had taken most of the attack, which threw him to the ground. Sunny clenched his knife. He thrust it through Shadow Kim while Izanagi cleaved the shadow with its blade. Kim’s shadow stopped moving. It returned to its Kim-shaped form and stood in silence. The real Kim gazed into her shadow’s face or lack thereof. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you going to do now?” She asked her shadow. The usual energy in her voice seemed to have disappeared. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel tried to comfort her, “It’s okay, Kim. We all have a side we don’t wanna show. I had to fight something like that too and It said some things I didn’t like.” Kel looked over to Sunny, “If my man Sunny hadn’t saved me, I would have been toast. We all need each other. Please don’t feel like you’re only using us, we’re your friends!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kim let out a small smile. “I’m sorry guys. Some friend I’ve been, huh.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We don’t feel like you’re just using us! Right, Sunny?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny wasn’t particularly close with Kim. He had remembered seeing her when they were younger, but he rarely interacted with her. Their interactions the few days before he moved hadn’t done anything to strengthen their relationship either. He nodded, as he didn’t know anything else he could have said or done.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kim looked at her shadow self, “I guess you kinda right, huh. I do care about Aubrey a lot. She’s my best friend, of course I care about her. She’s helped me through the rough times. I… I look up to her. I look up to all my friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kim’s shadow nodded and slowly disappeared. In its place was a card with the number VII (7) at the bottom. The chariot card. Kim grabbed it and felt enveloped in power. She had awakened her persona, Tomoe. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So I have the same power as you huh.” Enthusiasm returned to her voice. “Welp, let’s go save Aubrey! We wouldn’t want to keep her waiting, right?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not tired? That fight wore me out.” Kel said, wiping his brow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me? Tired? Never. I could do this all day! Now let's go!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kim ran through the castle gate. Sunny and Kel nodded at each other and followed behind, along with Mikhael. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading! This chapter is definitely the longest so far. I originally wanted to make it longer, making it end at Aubrey's Shadow. I ended up having it end at Kim's Shadow instead, as that felt like a better stopping point for this chapter.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Aubrey's Shadow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The entrance to Aubrey’s castle led to a large empty room. No furniture, no people, no wall decorations. One equally empty hallway branched off of the entrance room. The castle seemed to be void of any life whatsoever. Sunny’s eye was drawn to a blue door in the corner of the room, which contrasted with the red of the castle. He felt compelled to enter that door.</p>
<p>“Sunny what are you doing?” Kim asked.</p>
<p>Sunny ignored her and entered the door. He appeared in a familiar blue room, the Velvet Room. Igor was not present this time, however. The only person in the room besides Sunny was the woman who always sat close to Igor. </p>
<p>“I’m afraid we have not been introduced. My name is Margaret, servant of my master and attendant of the Velvet Room.” The woman spoke. “As a token of our meeting, I shall grant you a welcoming gift.”</p>
<p>A card appeared in front of the woman named Margaret. A picture of a small snowman-like guy with a blue hat was on it. </p>
<p>“It appears that you have found out about your ‘wild-card’ capabilities, as you have more than one persona.”</p>
<p>“So only I can have more than one persona?”</p>
<p>“Only one who has been granted power by the being my master serves can wield a wild card. Please, take my gift and expand this power you’ve been given.”</p>
<p>Sunny reached for the card and the depiction on it came to life.</p>
<p>“He, I’m Jack Frost, ho! I’ll go with you to the ends of the earth, ho!”</p>
<p>The being disappeared, and Sunny felt a feeling in his heart, similar to when he first obtained Pixie. The Velvet Room began to fade away and Sunny returned to Aubrey’s Castle</p>
<p>“Sunny! Sunny” You a’ight?” Kel asked while shaking Sunny’s body.</p>
<p>“Huh? What?”</p>
<p>“You were staring off into space over here for like, a minute. Are you feeling okay?”</p>
<p>“Y-yeah… I was just in…”</p>
<p>The memory of what had just transpired began to fade as if it was a dream.</p>
<p>“<em> Where was I? What was it called? The Cathedral of Shadows? I don’t think… </em> ” </p>
<p>“Are you tired? We can rest if you need to.” Kim said with concern. </p>
<p>“No… I’m fine… Let’s… Let’s go find Aubrey.”</p>
<p>The group walked up to Mikhael, who stood at the entrance to the hallway.</p>
<p>“Aubrey is definitely here. I can smell her… on the eighth floor.”</p>
<p>“Well, no reason to just stand here, let's go!” Kel said as he charged down the hallway. He didn’t run very far, however. Almost immediately, he spotted a door. </p>
<p>“Yo! A door! Maybe Aubrey is behind it.”</p>
<p>“No, you idiot! Don’t open random doors!” Kim yelled. Kel paid no attention and opened the door anyway. A set of stairs appeared in the newly opened room. </p>
<p>“Look, stairs! We’re almost there!” Kel said enthusiastically.</p>
<p>“Not exactly, those only go up to floor 2,” Mikhael replied with his arms crossed.</p>
<p>“Better than nothing, right?”</p>
<p>The gang climbed up the stairs. Sunny slowly made his ascend to the top, tightly holding on to the handrail. </p>
<p>“Hurry up, my guy!” Kim complained.</p>
<p>Kel elbowed Kim, “Dude, don’t.”</p>
<p>“Huh?”</p>
<p>“Sunny gets nervous going up and down stairs… don’t rush him.”</p>
<p>“Why?”</p>
<p>“I’ll… tell you later…”</p>
<p>Sunny eventually arrived at the top of the stairs.</p>
<p>“<em> Only seven more… Why can’t everything just be on one level? </em>”</p>
<p>The gang opened up another door to find another empty boring hallway. From seemingly nowhere, Aubrey’s voice could be heard,</p>
<p>“Why would anyone want to save me? I’m not worth saving.”</p>
<p>The group looked around for Aubrey, but she was not there. </p>
<p>“Aubrey! We’re here! Where are you?” Kel called out. There was no response. </p>
<p>“That’s odd, it doesn’t smell like she’s here. If I’m right, and I, The Maverick, am always right, she is definitely on the eighth floor.”</p>
<p>“But it sounded like she was right here,” Kel said.</p>
<p>“<em> Was that Aubrey’s thoughts? </em>” Sunny clenched his fists and looked to his feet. Kel walked up behind him and slapped him on the back.</p>
<p>“C’mon, Sun. We aren’t gonna find her just standing around like this.”</p>
<p>“Y-yeah… we should get going…”</p>
<p>“Yo guys! Check this out!” Kim yelled from the distance. Sunny, Kel, and Mikhael ran over to her. She was standing in front of a treasure chest. </p>
<p>“Oh! Can I open it!” Kel pleaded. </p>
<p>“I would say no… but why the hell not. I only found it.” Kim said sarcastically. </p>
<p>Kel opened the treasure chest, to which Kim was displeased. They found a pair of boxing gloves.</p>
<p>“Yo! Dibs!” Kel exclaimed while putting on the gloves. “Hehe, they fit like a glove!”</p>
<p>“They are gloves, dumbass,” Kim said, crossing her arms.</p>
<p>“You’re just jealous because I get the cool gloves.”</p>
<p>“I don’t need gloves, I have a ‘powerful kick’, right Mikhael?”</p>
<p>Mikhael took a large step away from Kim, “Oh no no no, you don’t have to do THAT again…”</p>
<p>Kim’s gaze turned to Kel, “Right Kel?”</p>
<p>“Please don’t hurt me…”</p>
<p>Kim turned to Sunny, “Right Su- wait, you don’t know about my ‘powerful kick’. Would you like to?”</p>
<p>Both Mikhael and Kel yelled “No no no! You DO NOT want to experience the ‘powerful kick’!” before Sunny could answer. </p>
<p>“How about we… uh…” Sunny looked to a nearby door, “Go through that door. Maybe that’s the way to go.”</p>
<p>Everybody opened the door Sunny mentioned and found another set of stairs. This time, however, a slime-shaped monster stood in between them and the stairs. </p>
<p>“Looks like we’re going to have to wipe it out,” Mikhael said</p>
<p>“I haven't seen you fight once!” Kel complained. </p>
<p>“I help you all fight from safety, like a commander! Aren’t I the best?”</p>
<p>The monster screamed and took the form of a black and white orb with its tongue sticking out.</p>
<p>“What a strange-looking shadow. Reminds me of my grandma.” Mikhael said. </p>
<p>“Stop talking! It’s whoop-ass time!” Kim yelled. </p>
<p>A card materialized in front of Kim’s face and she kicked it. Sunny was surprised at her flexibility.</p>
<p>“Tomoe!” </p>
<p>Kim’s Persona threw a ball of ice at the mouth-shadow, freezing it instantly. It fell to the ground and shattered. </p>
<p>“That was easy,” Kim boasted.</p>
<p>With one more victory under their belt, the group ascended the next set of stairs. Sunny was first in line, so everybody had to wait on him to finish his climb. They eventually reached the third floor, where they once again heard Aubrey’s voice. </p>
<p>“I’ll never be as good as Mari… I’ll never be as attractive as Mari… I’ll never be as smart as Mari… I’ll never have as many friends as Mari… Why would anyone want to keep me around?”</p>
<p>Sunny brought his hands to his head. He had both always and never wanted to hear Aubrey’s thoughts, but here they were, being forced upon him. He feared what Aubrey’s shadow might say if they encountered it. Either way, they all had to press on, no matter what. </p>
<p>*************</p>
<p>The group climbed the rest of the floors with relative ease. They encountered and defeated more strange shadows along the way. After some time, they finally reached the eighth floor. A large door stood between them and the possibility of saving Aubrey. </p>
<p>“Aubrey is behind that door. Is everyone ready?” Mikhael asked with concern in his voice.</p>
<p>Sunny pulled out his knife and held it tightly. He put his other hand to the door, ready to push it open.</p>
<p>“Ready or not, we still need to…”</p>
<p>Both Kim and Kel put their hand on Sunny’s shoulder. </p>
<p>“We understand…” Kim said.</p>
<p>“I’m sure we’re ready! We’ve been fighting monsters all day, what’s one more, right?” Kel encouraged. </p>
<p>“<em> It’s not that I’m worried about… </em>”</p>
<p>The three pushed open the door to find Aubrey and… Aubrey? It appeared She and her shadow had already met.</p>
<p>“Aha! Looks like our saviors are here to take us off our feet! What a twist!” Aubrey’s shadow laughed.</p>
<p>Aubrey was on her knees, looking down. </p>
<p>“Let’s see who came to save little ol’ me! Mikhael, Kel, Kim, and Sunny! Mikhael probably only did it because he would take anyone! Even someone as worthless as me!” </p>
<p>“Stop…” Aubrey whimpered.</p>
<p>“Next up we have Kel! He probably came here to prove he could. He’s better than me at everything, of course, he would try and save me from my horrible life!”</p>
<p>“Please… stop…” Aubrey said slightly louder.</p>
<p>“Kim is here as well! She’s so strong and helpful, but not good enough. You’ll never be able to truly support me.”</p>
<p>Kim took a step back. There was shock on her face.</p>
<p>“W-what?”</p>
<p>Aubrey punched the ground and stood up, “Shut up! That’s not true!”</p>
<p>“And finally we have Sunny. The one who murdered my role model. The one who left his house after four years just to stab me.”</p>
<p>Sunny pointed his knife towards Aubrey’s shadow. He was trembling. </p>
<p>“Gonna do it again, huh? Doesn’t matter, I can’t hate you after all. After all your sins, I can’t find it in myself to hate you, you’re too useful to me.” Shadow Aubrey gazed towards the real Aubrey, “Isn’t that right, me?” </p>
<p>“NO! I don't do that! I’m nothing like that! I’m not...”</p>
<p>“DON’T SAY IT!” The group yelled simultaneously </p>
<p>“I’m not you!”</p>
<p>Aubrey’s shadow caught fire. Its body slowly disappeared. A chandelier fell from the ceiling, almost hitting the real Aubrey. She immediately passed out from stress. At the top of the chandelier was a birdcage. A large phoenix emerged from the cage.</p>
<p>“I am a shadow, the true self! Since you are all here to save me, why don’t we play for a little bit!” Aubrey’s shadow mocked. </p>
<p>“Hold on Aubs… we’re here for you,” Kim said.</p>
<p>“You guys have a plan?!” Mikhael yelled from a safe distance.</p>
<p>“<em> I’m trying… let me think… </em>”</p>
<p>The phoenix rose into the air. It looked like it was about to swoop down and charge all of them.</p>
<p>“Maybe… we can freeze it while it’s in the air. It’ll fall down and we can rush it.” Sunny suggested. </p>
<p>Aubrey’s shadow dive-bombed towards the group. Sunny was caught by surprise. </p>
<p>“AAH! JACK FROST!” He quickly screamed while trying to jump out of the way. </p>
<p>A snowman-looking dude with a blue hat appeared above Sunny.</p>
<p>“He-ho, motherfucker!” Jack Frost said while throwing a chunk of ice at Aubrey’s shadow. It fell to the ground in front of Sunny and started writhing in pain. </p>
<p>“Oh… uh… beat it up now!” Sunny called out. The three pummeled the momentarily paralyzed bird before it could get up. </p>
<p>“Yes! Good damage! Good damage! It looks like it’s weak to bufu!” Mikhael cheered. </p>
<p>“Bufu?” Kel asked.</p>
<p>“That’s the ice move! Use ice moves!” </p>
<p>Aubrey’s shadow woke up and flung its attackers off. It rose into the air once again and perched on the chandelier. </p>
<p>“Oh, you’re hurting me. Not that it matters, I’m used to being unloved!” Shadow Aubrey said mockingly. </p>
<p>“If we can get it down here one more time, we might be able to defeat it.” Sunny said, “but it doesn’t look like it wants to come down.”</p>
<p>Aubrey’s shadow shot a fireball at Kim which immediately knocked her down. </p>
<p>“Kim!” Kel yelled out with worry.</p>
<p>“Kel, try using wind to rock the chandelier back and forth. Me and Kim will distract it.”</p>
<p>“Got it!” </p>
<p>Kel ran around to the other side of the phoenix. Sunny ran over to Kim’s side.</p>
<p>“You alright,” he said while extending a hand to Kim.</p>
<p>“I’m okay…” Kim responded. She seemed out of breath. </p>
<p>Aubrey’s shadow charged up another fireball. Sunny and Kim took a defensive position. Before the shadow could let out an attack, its perch shook back and forth.</p>
<p>“What the hell are you doing!” it screamed.</p>
<p>“Knocking you down, you big loser!” Kel replied with a smile. </p>
<p>Shadow Aubrey couldn’t hold on to its perch and fell to the ground once again. </p>
<p>“Jack Frost!”</p>
<p>“Tomoe!”</p>
<p>Two ice attacks were thrown at Aubrey’s Shadow, freezing it.</p>
<p>“Now! Kick its ass!” Kim commanded. The three jumped on Aubrey’s Shadow and hit it with all they had. Aubrey’s shadow screamed in pain until it suddenly stopped moving. </p>
<p>“Did we do it?” Kel asked quickly.</p>
<p>“I think… I think we did it…” </p>
<p>The group ran over to where Aubrey was lying. Sunny crouched down beside her and put his hand under her head.</p>
<p>“Aubrey… Are you okay? Aubrey, can you hear me?” A tear fell from Sunny’s eye.</p>
<p>Aubrey slowly opened her eyes.</p>
<p>“S-Sunny?”</p>
<p>She looked over to where her shadow used to be. It once again looked just like Aubrey.</p>
<p>“Make it stop…” Aubrey pleaded.</p>
<p>“It’s okay, we defeated the monster,” Kel assured.</p>
<p>Aubrey sighed. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for all of this” She whipped her eyes.</p>
<p>Kim kneeled down beside her, “It’s okay. We all have that side of ourselves we don’t want to show.”</p>
<p>“Aubrey… We’re your friends. We care about you…” Sunny said, trying to comfort her.</p>
<p>Aubrey let out a genuine smile and stood up. She usually didn’t smile unless she was getting into mischief. A real smile from her warmed Sunny’s heart… and face. He would always blush when Aubrey smiled at him. Aubrey looked to her shadow and nodded.</p>
<p>“I… I do want to be saved. I do want people to care about me. But you know what? That’s fine.” Aubrey looked back at the three who saved her. “Because I know… that these guys will be there for me. What I’m saying is… I guess I am you…”</p>
<p>The shadow nodded and slowly disappeared and a card with the number II (2) at the bottom appeared. The priestess card. A pink feminine figure took the cards place. It had what appeared to be a huge wing connected to its arms. Aubrey had awakened her persona, Konohana Sakuya. </p>
<p>“Can I ask you guys something?” Aubrey said.</p>
<p>“Whatcha need?” Kel responded with a thumbs up.</p>
<p>“Can we get the fuck out of here?”</p>
<p>Mikhael slowly strode to where everyone could see him.</p>
<p>“Oh… you’re here…” Aubrey said flatly. </p>
<p>“I’m glad to see you too! Fortunately for all of us, I know EXACTLY how to get out of here!” </p>
<p>Mikhael guided everybody to the exit of the castle, and then to the exit of the TV world. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sunny, Kel, Kim, and Aubrey emerge from the TV into the electronics department of Othermart. </p>
<p>“So Mikhael doesn’t come with us?” Aubrey asked.</p>
<p>“He says he likes to hang out at that place.” Kel shrugged. </p>
<p>“Oh shit guys, look at the time!” Kim yelled while looking at her phone. It was 6 PM. </p>
<p>“No wonder I’m starving,” Kel said while patting his belly. “WAIT NO! My mom’s gonna be so mad that I’ve been out this long. I better hurry home.”</p>
<p>“You wouldn’t happen to have some extra food for me… would you?” Kim said with puppy dog eyes. </p>
<p>“Of course we do! We always have extra food!”</p>
<p>“Hell yeah! Free food!”</p>
<p>“You guys can come too if you want.” Kel offered while motioning his hand towards Sunny and Aubrey. </p>
<p>“I’m not really that hungry right now. I really just wanna sleep.” Aubrey said somewhat quietly. </p>
<p>“Well okay… The door will be unlocked if you change your mind!” Kel said while running towards his house. Kim followed closely behind him. Soon they could no longer be seen.</p>
<p>“You wanna go eat something with me?” Aubrey asked.</p>
<p>“I thought you weren’t hungry.” Sunny responded.</p>
<p>Aubrey shook her head, “I don’t have the strength for meaningless small talk with Kel’s parents.”</p>
<p>“So you wanna go to Ginos or something?”</p>
<p>“Nah, I’m not in the mood for greasy stuff. I was thinking we could get a sandwich or something.”</p>
<p>“Okay…”</p>
<p>Sunny and Aubrey went to the deli where they both got sandwiches. They found a table for two in the Othermart food court and ate their food in silence. It wasn’t until they both finished when they finally spoke to each other,</p>
<p>“This place sure got big since last I was here.” Sunny noted.</p>
<p>“Yeah, there’s been a lot of construction here since you left.”</p>
<p>There was a short silence between them. </p>
<p>“Aubrey… Are you… Is everything…” Sunny began. </p>
<p>“I’m fine,” Aubrey said before Sunny could finish.</p>
<p>“You’re not hurt or anything?”</p>
<p>“I… I don’t know.”<br/>There was another lull between them. Sunny wanted to say something, anything to keep the conversation going. Luckily, Aubrey broke the silence.</p>
<p>“So those ghost guys you all had, I have one now too?”</p>
<p>“Seems like it.”</p>
<p>“Did Kim have to fight her shadow to get one?”</p>
<p>“Yeah. Kel and I fought it.”</p>
<p>“Did Kel?”</p>
<p>Sunny noticed where this was going, and he didn’t like it.</p>
<p>“Y-yeah…”</p>
<p>“Did you?”</p>
<p>Sunny looked into his lap. He didn’t respond.</p>
<p>“I’m assuming you had to fight Kel’s shadow, so who fought your shadow?”</p>
<p>“I… I did…”</p>
<p>“But how? It turns into a huge monster and you wouldn’t have a persona to help you.”</p>
<p>Sunny sighed, “Mine was a monster the way it was.”</p>
<p>“Huh?”</p>
<p>“It turns into a monster once you say ‘you’re not me’. I never thought it wasn’t me… my… shadow I guess… It told me that I was a horrible person… That I don’t deserve forgiveness… That I should just…” Sunny’s voice trailed off. </p>
<p>“Sunny!...”</p>
<p>“I agreed with it. I know I’m a terrible person. I know I shouldn’t be forgiven.”</p>
<p>“I forgave you!”</p>
<p>“You shouldn’t have.”</p>
<p>Aubrey put her hand to her mouth,</p>
<p>“Do you remember when I pushed Basil into that pond?”</p>
<p>Sunny nodded.</p>
<p>“I was so lucky nothing bad happened to either of you. If something did happen… I would... what I’m trying to say is I understand it was an accident. You and Basil were scared… You aren’t a bad person.”</p>
<p>“Everything I do is bad.”</p>
<p>“No! You saved Basil’s life that time… You probably saved Kel and Kim’s life in that strange world… You saved my life too… multiple times…”</p>
<p>“<em> Multiple times? </em>”</p>
<p>Aubrey reached for Sunny’s hand across the table. The warmth of her hand against his lit up his face. </p>
<p>“I don’t care how many times I have to tell you this, you aren’t a bad person. I forgive you. Kel forgives you. We all forgive you.”</p>
<p>Sunny wiped his eye with his free arm. </p>
<p>“Aubrey…”</p>
<p>“Yeah?”</p>
<p>“Thank you…”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. First Day of School</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is "oops all fluff". I also added some more tags. I'll probably add more when I think of them.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The sound of Sunny’s phone alarm pulled him from his sleep. He would be more afraid of his first day back to his old school, but the fact he had fought literal demons the day before made his return to school a bit trivial. Sunny had promised to walk to school with his friends like they used to do. After brushing his teeth, taking a shower, and getting dressed, he made his way down to the living room. Nanako was sitting by herself at the counter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you ready for school?” Nanako asked cheerfully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny sighed, “As ready as I’ll ever be…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope you have fun, big bro!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This statement took Sunny completely off guard. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“B-big bro?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! You’re like my big brother!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny looked away. He had no idea how to respond to being someone’s brother again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… uh… I hope you have a good day too…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nanako just smiled in return. Sunny hurried out the door and left for where he would meet up with his friends. He found Aubrey and Basil standing at the crossroad between Kel’s street and Kim’s street. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning Sunny!” Basil greeted cheerfully. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kim tends to sleep in so Kel’s taken it upon himself to wake her up with his loud and obnoxious voice,” Aubrey explained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel soon approached the three, followed by a very sleepy Kim. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Sunny! Ready for the first day at your new school? I hope we’re in the same class!” Kel said enthusiastically.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been to school here before, it’s not really new.” Sunny responded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… yeah, but you haven't been to our high school yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Basil put his hand to his chin, “Say, how are you even in our grade? With the… the four years that…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did some online class a while ago and everything says I can be in the grade I would normally be in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah… That’s good!” Basil said with a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kinda strange if you ask me. Ah well, who’s complaining?” Aubrey shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The group started down the road towards the school. None of them could ride a bus since they all lived close enough to the school that they could walk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yo, what if…” Kim started with a yawn. “What if Sunny is in our class?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I said! It would be really cool though,” Kel exclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He could be in my class too, that would be pretty cool…” Basil added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cmon, you already got Mikhael in your class,” Aubrey joked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not a good thing! Everybody is in your class except for me and Mikhael… Why do I get stuck with Mikhael?” Basil said in a defeated voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cuz we’re stuck with King Moron. You get a teacher who isn’t a dick.” Aubrey sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“King Moron?” Sunny asked while tilting his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our piece of shit teacher. You don’t have to worry about him unless you’re in our class.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which is definitely going to happen!” Kel said with a smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone arrived at the school and went to their own classes. Sunny entered the office to find out which class he was in. A woman behind the office desk gave Sunny a piece of paper with the number “202” and the name “Mr. Morooka” on it. He was told that this was his homeroom and homeroom teacher. Sunny made his way to where his new classroom would be. The first person he noticed was who he assumed was the teacher, an older man with very strange-looking teeth. The second person he noticed was Kel with a huge grin on his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Cool, Kel’s in my class. Wait, didn’t he say…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny noticed some familiar pink hair behind Kel. Her head was in her arms on the table. Behind her was Kim, who looked like she was sleeping. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The teacher, whose name seemed to be Mr. Morooka spoke, “Listen up! We got a new student!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey’s head shot up. Her eyes widened when she saw Sunny standing in front of the class. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Morooka turned to Sunny, “Listen up, new guy. Sunny Narukami, was it? I bet you think you're some big shot, coming from the city. The land of perverts and assholes. You probably think you’ve ‘been through it’ with that eyepatch of yours, huh? Well, listen here, bud. You hardly know how bad it really gets. All you kids do is stare at your damn phone all day! You barely live anymore! You don’t know anything!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I can see why they call him King Moron.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Marooka vaguely gestured to the class, “Go find someplace to sit. Waste of my time…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny walked forward to find an empty seat and by some divine miracle, the spot next to Aubrey was vacant. He would be able to sit next to all his friends present. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I’m gonna go take a piss, you all better behave while I’m gone!” The teacher said while leaving the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel turned in his seat to face Sunny. He still had the biggest grin on his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“King Moron, huh…” Sunny said quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, right! What a dick. He thinks he knows you…” Aubrey slammed her fist on the desk. The sound shocked Kim awake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh! What’s going on? Why’s Sunny here?” She said, trying to grasp her bearings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sunny’s in our class!” Kel said happily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, cool! The gangs all here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Basil isn’t here…” Sunny added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll see him at lunch,” Kim responded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah! We got to show Sunny our secret lunch spot!” Kel proposed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The teacher returned to class and the day continued as a normal school day would. Sunny never cared much for schooling and got by just fine. Eventually, the lunch break came. Kel, Aubrey, and Kim ordered Sunny to follow them to the roof. It was mostly empty besides one bench next to the gate that prevented students from falling off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No one comes up here so we’ve adopted this place as our own,” Aubrey explained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel sat down and stretched his arms out, “So are not gonna talk about what happened yesterday? I mean, what WAS up with that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door to the school opened up and Basil emerged with a ton of bags full of food.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guess we aren’t…” Kim said flatly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Basil tried to wave the best he could while his arms were full.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi everyone! Food’s here! I see you’ve shown Sunny our spot.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Basil handed out food to everyone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t know what you wanted, Sunny, so I got you this sandwich. If you want something else I can go get it…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s fine… So you all bully Basil into getting your lunch?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bro, he offered it!” Kim said defensively. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s fine. I like seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces when their food arrives.” Basil said happily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! You all should come over to my house today! We can all play some games together or something.” Kel said with his mouth full.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t talk with food in your mouth, idiot.” Aubrey berated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually, I have something really important to do today… It’s actually really exciting.” Basil told.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s that?” Kel asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Basil started. He had a huge smile on his face. “Fix-It is doing a commercial… and I’m going to be in it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No way, are you for real?” Kim asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup! We have a lot of work to do, though. It should be airing next month. I’m so excited! I’ll get to be on TV!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not that great…” Aubrey said quietly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you can’t come over?” Kel looked somewhat disappointed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry… Plus, I’m not really a… a gamer…” Basil’s face turned a bit sad, “Once the commercial is done, I guarantee I’ll be able to hang out more!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s good at least… What about you three?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m down for whatever,” Kim shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Might as well, got nothing better to do,” Aubrey added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny nodded, “Sounds fun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel jumped up and made a fist pump, “Great! Everyone can follow me home once school’s out!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bell that signified the school day’s end eventually rang. Everybody followed Kel to his house. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How about you three enter first. Maybe my mom won’t pin babysitting on me if she sees I have friends over.” Kel said while shoving his friends through the door. Kel’s house looked pretty much the exact same as it did when Sunny last saw it. Kel’s mom entered the room holding Kel’s baby sister, Sally, in her arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kel, can you… Oh, I didn’t know we had company.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel’s mom’s eyes eventually met Sunny’s.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sunny! I haven’t seen you in so long! Have you grown? How’s living in the city?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Geez, mom! You don’t have to ask Sunny a billion questions right now, he’s gonna be here all year!” Kel whined. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s… uh… it’s fine. City’s okay… kinda crowded though…” Sunny answered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel groaned, “Cmon, guys, let's go play some games!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel somehow dragged three people to his room before his mother could say anything else. Much like the rest of Kel’s house, his room hadn’t changed from when Sunny last saw it either. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, is there anything you wanna play?” Kel asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was that one game you wanted to play with Sunny?” Kim said putting her hand to her chin, “The one you said you would ‘beat the snot out of Sunny’ next time you played” There was a devious smile on her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You mean Arena Ultimax? I’ve been practicing for so long that I WILL beat Sunny!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey scoffed, “You? Beat Sunny? He has cleaned the floor with you in every game I’ve seen you two play together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but that was years ago. I’ve been practicing, so now there is no way Sunny can beat me! Kim even fought against me to test out my skills and I am unbeatable!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny and Kel picked up a controller and Kel navigated through the game to the character select screen. They both picked their characters and the legendary battle commenced… until less than a minute later when Sunny had completely decimated Kel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“WHAT! HOW! All that time practicing! How can I still not beat Sunny?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He can’t be beaten…” Aubrey proclaimed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know what? Kim, help me beat Sunny!” Kel begged</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can’t do a 2v1. Someone will have to be on Sunny’s team too” Kim told</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aubrey can be on his team. She’s not good at this game so it won’t really matter if she's there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey grabbed Kel by the collar of his shirt, “You wanna run that by me again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw c'mon, Aubrey, just play with us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey pushed Kel to the floor, “Fine, but I’m going to be mad about it the entire time.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel set up a two versus two match. Once again, Sunny absolutely destroyed both Kel and Kim. Aubrey grabbed Sunny’s hand and raised it in the air,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hell yeah! We won!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny blushed slightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, don’t swear. My mom might get mad…” Kel whispered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah Aubs, don’t fuckin’ swear.” Kim joked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C'mon guys! I’m serious!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The screen flashed red and some text appeared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“New challenger approaching!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s this?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s just the final unlockable character, ‘Large Leader’. All his attacks kill you instantly unless you parry and I’ve never been able to beat him.” Kel explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait… Sunny’s here… are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Kim asked with her signature devious smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel’s face lit up, “You’re right! Sunny, can you please please PLEASE beat him for me? If you do I’ll… uh… do something really cool for you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll do my best…” Sunny said while entering the battle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny did not immediately die to the boss. In fact, he was holding his ground quite well. Kel and Kim cheered for him loudly. Even Aubrey looked enthralled with Sunny’s gameplay. After some time, Sunny defeated the boss. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“SUNNY YOU DID IT!” Kel exclaimed with much joy. He jumped into Sunny to hug him but ended up pushing him into Aubrey, who was sitting next to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Calm down, Kel! It was cool but not that cool.” She said while pushing the boys off of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Not that cool’ she says, THAT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER!” Kel yelled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The group heard a baby crying, probably due to Kel’s loud voice. All happiness in his face quickly turned to fear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no… we woke Sally!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean ‘we’? You’re the one yelling.” Kim said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel’s mom burst through the door and she looked livid.</span>
</p><p><span>“How many times do I have to tell you?! DON’T! YELL! WHEN! IT’S! SALLY’S! NAP! TIME!”</span><span><br/></span> <span>Kim lightly slapped Aubrey and Sunny’s backs, “I think it’s time we made our leave.” The three quietly left the room while Kel faced the fury of one thousand suns. Kim mouthed out the word “sorry” as they left. </span></p><p>
  <span>“Well, now what…” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I dunno… I’m still in awe at Sunny’s gamer skills.” Kim said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t that great…” Sunny said quietly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cmon, man, give yourself some credit.” Aubrey encouraged while lightly punching him in the arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah!” Kim agreed, “Our fearless leader needs to have some self-respect!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“W-what? Fearless leader?” Sunny questioned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! You took charge in that weird castle last night, and you’re obviously the strongest out of all of us!” Kim said with a thumbs up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t… I just wanted to make sure Aubrey was okay… Plus, shouldn’t Mikhael be the ‘leader’? He guided us.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim scoffed, “There’s nothing I’d rather not do than call Mikhael my leader. Plus, all he does is stand there like he’s hot shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I gotta agree. I didn’t really get to see what you did before you fought my shadow, but you looked really determined in that fight, Sunny. It was kinda cool… Actually, it was really cool. What I’m saying is… just take the compliment, you deserve it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… uh… thanks… I hope that… I’m a good leader then… I guess…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny hated the idea of being a leader. He never wanted to let people down, and being someone people looked up to just set him up for failure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s getting kinda late. We should probably go home.” Kim observed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’re right… I guess I’ll see you all tomorrow then?” Sunny said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup! See ya tomorrow!” Kim waved. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three parted ways and went to their own houses. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sunny entered his uncle’s home and was greeted by Nanako,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Big bro! How was your day?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pretty good… Yours?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really good! During snack time, we got handed out animal crackers and I got a penguin! I love the penguin!”</span>
</p><p><span>“That’s really cool,” Sunny said, almost smiling. “I’m going to be doing some homework. If you need anything I’ll be in my room.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“Okay!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Sunny went upstairs to his room. He pulled out some math homework and looked at the first question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If X = Y+...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny groaned, “Screw this…” and just went to bed. He dreamt someone was calling out to him. He felt like he heard their voice before, but he couldn’t tell who it was. All he could see was a blue butterfly in front of him. It also felt familiar. Was this who was calling out to him? Maybe this was just a regular dream that people had, but for some reason… It felt important…</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Feels Birthday Man</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A chapter focused on Sunburn. I hope this is something you all enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>About a month had passed since Sunny’s return to school. May had arrived and Summer break would soon be starting. School had been rather uneventful for Sunny, and no other-worldly activities had happened since the battle with Aubrey’s shadow. Sunny would occasionally have dreams where he was in the Velvet Room, but it was usually only because Margaret wanted him to bring her objects from “the human world”. Sunny, Kel, Aubrey, Kim, and Basil sat together at Faraway Park, discussing the end of the school year,</p>
<p>“We’re gonna be seniors next year! We’ll be the rulers of the school!” Kel exclaimed with a smile.</p>
<p>Aubrey shook her head, “What are you, five? This isn’t some shitty movie.”</p>
<p>“So when exactly is our last day of school?” Kim asked.</p>
<p>Basil sighed, “Our last day is the 22nd. Do you ever listen to your teachers?”</p>
<p>“Nope!” Kim stuck her tongue out. </p>
<p>“So… uh… are any of you going to be busy on the 23rd?” Sunny asked. </p>
<p>“Vance’s graduation. Not really looking forward to it, for multiple reasons…” Kim told.</p>
<p>“End of year basketball game! You should come!” Kel sounded excited.</p>
<p>“I’ll pass…” Sunny said deadpan. </p>
<p>“I’ll be there. Even though the year’s over, I’ll still have to do yearbook stuff.” Basil said. He seemed somewhat annoyed.</p>
<p>Aubrey stayed quiet, and Sunny knew exactly why. May 23rd was Aubrey’s birthday, and Sunny wanted to make up for the lack of birthdays for the past four years. The plan of a huge surprise party had been crushed. He had to think of something else to make her happy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sunny entered his uncle’s home and went straight to his laptop. He opened a shopping website and stared at the homepage for an hour. </p>
<p>“<em>Cmon, Sunny, what would she like? The one time I want my brain to work it doesn’t. Why am I so stupid? </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny sighed and leaned back in his chair. The pile of stuffed animals next to his bed caught his eye. </p>
<p>“<em>Stuffed animals? I wonder… </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny searched the website for “Mr. Plantegg plush”. The first thing that showed up was “Jumbo Mr. Plantegg. Now five feet in size!” Sunny thought this could be the perfect gift. The only problem was the price.</p>
<p>“<em>Two hundred dollars?! How am I… </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny remembered something. During his time in the TV world, he had fought against a golden hand monster. After its defeat, it dropped a gold coin. </p>
<p>“<em>Maybe I can sell this? I hope so… </em>”</p>
<p>While Sunny tried putting the monster loot for sale, a text from Basil showed up on his phone.</p>
<p>
  <b>MAY 2nd, 20XX. 5:35 PM</b>
</p>
<p>Basil&gt; Guys! Go to channel 17 right now!</p>
<p>Sunny lazily turned on his television and turned to the channel Basil mentioned. He quickly found a commercial for Fix-It. Specifically, the one Basil said he was going to be in, as a well-dressed Basil was on the TV. He stood next to a few other older people, all holding various pieces of gardening equipment. As quickly as it started, the commercial ended with everyone singing a little jingle. Once again, Sunny received a text from Basil.</p>
<p>
  <b>MAY 2nd, 20XX. 5:36 PM</b>
</p>
<p>Basil&gt; Did you see it?</p>
<p>Sunny&gt; I did. Cool stuff.</p>
<p>Kel&gt; That was awesome! Wish I could be on TV…</p>
<p>Kim&gt; Yo, you were lookin’ kinda fresh with that suit. ;) ;) ;)</p>
<p>Basil&gt; Thank you! </p>
<p>Sunny was called to dinner shortly after. Apparently, Nanako had also seen that commercial since her eyes are always glued to the TV. They discussed what they had seen and how one of the people on there was Sunny’s friend. </p>
<p>****************</p>
<p>Sunny had successfully sold the gold coin for twice the amount he needed and ordered Aubrey’s present as fast as he could. There was a knock on the door a few days before the event and the package had arrived. As Sunny brought it in, Nanako looked curiously at it.</p>
<p>“Big bro, what’s that?”</p>
<p>“It’s, uh… it’s a present…”</p>
<p>“Ooh! Is it for me?”</p>
<p>“No, it’s for one of my friends…”</p>
<p>“Wow! They must be super happy to get a present that big!” </p>
<p>“I-I really hope they are…”</p>
<p>Sunny went to bed later that night and stared at the ceiling for hours. Every single possibility of what could happen tomorrow flew through Sunny’s mind. </p>
<p>“<em> What if she hates it… What if she’s not home… Should I take her out to dinner… What if she yells at me… Why didn’t I get her something better? Stupid toy for babies… Stupid $200 toy that a baby would never be able to afford… Guess I’m the stupid one, what a surprise… </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny had lied awake long enough that the clock struck midnight. The TV in Sunny’s room turned on by itself. Sunny sat up and saw static coming from the television. In the middle was another silhouette of a person, similar to the night before Aubrey’s shadow showed up on the TV. Sunny got out of bed and took a closer look at it. The person’s build appeared to be very slim with somewhat long hair. Other than that, the identity of the person could not be made out. </p>
<p>“<em> The midnight channel is still here? Did someone else fall into that world? Why is any of this happening? </em>”</p>
<p>****************</p>
<p>After what felt like multiple eternities, morning came. Sunny rubbed the sleep out his eyes and got ready for the day ahead. Eventually Sunny summoned enough courage to leave his house. He grabbed the large present and started towards Aubrey’s place. The sheer size of the box made it difficult for Sunny to both see and move. He rehearsed everything he wanted to say, which probably wasn’t a good idea, as he almost tripped over every single crack in the sidewalk along the way. Sunny eventually made it to Aubrey’s door in one piece. He raised his hand to knock on the door. His whole body was shaking. Sunny mustered up all the courage and knocked on the door. Unfortunately, Aubrey did not answer, her mom did. </p>
<p>“What do you want? I didn’t order anything.” She growled. Her voice was both intimidating and raspy. Sunny instinctively took a step back.</p>
<p>“No, uh… I just… um…”</p>
<p>“Stop stuttering!” she barked. Sunny jumped backwards.</p>
<p>“Oh… Sorry… I just wondered if… is Aubrey home?”</p>
<p>The woman leaned down to look Sunny in the eye, “Get the fuck out of here, kid. Nobody wants you around.”</p>
<p>Someone almost immediately yelled from behind Aubrey’s mother, “Mom! What are you… is that Sunny? Mom what the fuck are you doing!”</p>
<p>Aubrey’s mother slammed the door in Sunny’s face. He could hear yelling from inside the house. Sunny was paralyzed with fear. He wanted to run away but his legs wouldn’t let him. </p>
<p>“<em>Calm down… calm down… please calm down… </em>”</p>
<p>The yelling soon died down. Aubrey emerged from her house and quickly closed the door behind her. </p>
<p>“I’m… I’m really sorry you had to see that. Please don’t listen to anything she says…” </p>
<p>Sunny didn’t respond. Aubrey quickly tried to change the subject. </p>
<p>“So… what’s with the box?”</p>
<p>“Huh?”</p>
<p>“That box you have. It’s bigger than you. Why are you holding it, quite poorly I might add.”</p>
<p>“Oh… It’s your… birthday present.”</p>
<p>Aubrey chuckled and crossed her arms, “Yeah right, what’s REALLY in the box?”</p>
<p>“Huh? Today is your birthday… Why wouldn’t I get you something?”</p>
<p>Aubrey turned away, still crossing her arms. She looked a little embarrassed. “Wait, you actually… I didn’t think you remembered…”</p>
<p>“I specifically brought today up a few weeks ago.”</p>
<p>“I thought that was just because today is the first day of summer break… I haven't actually celebrated my birthday in years.”</p>
<p>“That’s… kinda sad…”</p>
<p>“Maybe… You wanna bring that huge box inside? It looks like you’re having a real rough time holding it.”</p>
<p>“Please… actually, isn’t your mom-”</p>
<p>Aubrey slowly opened the door to her house and peeked inside.</p>
<p>“Mom’s watching TV now. She wouldn’t even notice if the house burnt down.”</p>
<p>The two entered Aubrey’s house. This marked the third time Sunny had been to Aubrey’s house, and he loathed it every time. The smell was the absolute worst part about the house was the smell, some horrid combination of trash, alcohol, and urine. </p>
<p>“<em>How can someone who smells as nice as Aubrey live in a place like this? </em>” </p>
<p>They passed by Aubrey’s mother, whose eyes were glued to the TV screen, and Aubrey climbed the ladder to her room. Sunny struggled to lift the box above his head and Aubrey grabbed it.</p>
<p>“You think it’ll fit? That entrance is a bit small...” Sunny asked worriedly.</p>
<p>“It’ll fit. Wait… shit… okay got it. See, it fits.”</p>
<p>Sunny climbed the ladder into Aubrey’s room. Despite the room itself being messy, it was still the cleanest room in the house. Aubrey placed the box in the center of the room, between herself and Sunny. </p>
<p>“I really hope you like it…”</p>
<p>“I’m sure I will. After all, you got it for me. It can’t be worse than that time Kel got me a lottery ticket. It wasn’t even one of those fake ones where you win.”</p>
<p>Sunny slightly laughed. “Yeah, I remember that…”</p>
<p>Aubrey turned the box so that the top was facing up and began trying to peel the tape off.</p>
<p>“You might need some scissors or something to cut that…” Sunny suggested. Aubrey ripped the top open with only her hands. </p>
<p>Aubrey smirked, “Or not.”</p>
<p>“Or not…”</p>
<p>Aubrey threw all the packing peanuts out of the bag and raised the plush within into the air. From the way she was holding it, Sunny couldn’t see her reaction.</p>
<p>“Do you… uh… do you like it? Your old one was kind of beat up from being in the treehouse all those years so I wanted to get you a new one…”</p>
<p>Aubrey lowered the planet-sized plush so Sunny could see her face. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was agape.</p>
<p>“Sunny… you didn’t…” </p>
<p>“I haven't been able to get you something for years… so I thought I should get you something big this year to make up for it…”</p>
<p>“Sunny… I love it!” Aubrey put the new plush down beside her.</p>
<p>“Th-thank you. I was hoping-”</p>
<p>Aubrey wrapped her arms around Sunny. He sharply inhaled and slowly raised his hands to return the hug.”<br/>“No, thank you, Sunny. Thank you so much…”</p>
<p>“Are you crying?”</p>
<p>“No!... Maybe…” </p>
<p>Aubrey pulled away from Sunny and it was apparent that she was crying. </p>
<p>“Man, how did you even get that… It must have been expensive.” She asked. </p>
<p>“I found some money from that TV world… Probably selfish of me to spend it all on you instead of sharing with Kel and Kim.”</p>
<p>“It’s probably fine. Besides, Kel owes both of us money, right? Let’s just say it’s even.”</p>
<p>“Doesn’t he only owe like thirty dollars?”</p>
<p>“The interest probably makes up for if. What was this, Fifty?” </p>
<p>“Two hundred…”</p>
<p>“Two hundred!” Aubrey’s jaw dropped, “Now I kinda feel bad…”</p>
<p>“Please don’t… There’s still one more thing I want to do for you… I wanted to… uh… take you out… for dinner, I mean…”</p>
<p>Aubrey covered her mouth with her hands, “You’re not being serious…”</p>
<p>“No, I am… I have a place planned out and everything…”</p>
<p>“You’re doing all this for me? You’re the best, Sunny.”</p>
<p>“Not really…”</p>
<p>“C’mon, you can’t fool me. You’re so sweet for doing all of this.”</p>
<p>“I- uh… Not really… I don’t think…” Sunny’s face grew redder and redder. Aubrey put a hand on his shoulder,</p>
<p>“Can you please stop doing that? I don’t like when you talk bad about yourself.”</p>
<p>“Sorry…”</p>
<p>Aubrey put her free hand to her chin, “How about this, don’t say anything bad about yourself for the rest of the day… for me…”</p>
<p>“Oh… Okay…”</p>
<p>Aubrey clapped her hands together, “So, dinner, huh…”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I found a place somewhat nearby. It’s a bit of a walk, but considering neither of us has a car…”</p>
<p>“Well, then we should probably get going.”</p>
<p>“Yeah… let’s…”</p>
<p>The two left Aubrey’s house and Sunny led the way to a restaurant he found online. They arrived at the front door of a place called <em> C'est Magnifique Steakhouse </em>.</p>
<p>“This place looks really fancy,” Aubrey said in awe.</p>
<p>“A little bit… Maybe zip up your jacket…”</p>
<p>“Why would I do that?”</p>
<p>“They probably have a dress code… and-”</p>
<p>“And I’m showing some skin, I see how it is.”</p>
<p>“I-I don’t make the rules...”</p>
<p>Aubrey laughed, “I know, I’m just teasing ya’.”</p>
<p>They entered the restaurant and got seated. Aubrey looked around with wonder in her eyes as if she was a kid in a candy store. They both placed their orders and waited for their food to arrive. </p>
<p>“I still can’t believe you’ve done all this for me.” Aubrey grinned.</p>
<p>“I just wanted to do something nice…”</p>
<p>“Well I’m really happy you did. Honestly, today is definitely one of the best days I’ve had in a long time. Maybe ever.”</p>
<p>“R-really?” Sunny’s face lit up.</p>
<p>“Yeah… Hold on one second.”</p>
<p>Aubrey pulled her phone out and flipped it open.  Almost immediately, a flash of light appeared in Sunny’s face.</p>
<p>“You were smiling. Your smile is a rare sight, so I kinda had to.” Aubrey admitted. </p>
<p>“O-oh… t-that’s… um…” Sunny was incredibly flustered, so much so that he failed to get much out of his mouth.</p>
<p>“Well actually my phone buzzed, I just saw the chance and took it.” </p>
<p>“Oh… I see…”</p>
<p>Aubrey read what had appeared on her phone. Her face warped into one of concern. </p>
<p>“Who was that?” Sunny asked.</p>
<p>“Have you seen Basil at all today?”</p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p>“Kel asked where he was. Guess he didn’t show up to that dumbass basketball game today.”</p>
<p>“Odd.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The server eventually brought out their food. Sunny watched Aubrey’s attempt to cut her steak and couldn’t help but chuckle. </p>
<p>“You need help?” he jokingly asked.</p>
<p>“Shut up. I haven’t eaten anything like this in… ever probably.”</p>
<p>Sunny continued to watch, paying close attention to the knife in Aubrey’s hands. His eye darted to the knife in his own hand, and he remembered something important. </p>
<p>“I never apologized! I’m so sorry…” Sunny said quickly.</p>
<p>“Huh? Apologized for what?” Aubrey tilted her head.</p>
<p>“Our fight a year ago... When I… um… hurt you…”</p>
<p>Aubrey sighed. “Oh, that... Honestly, I probably deserved it. I did have my bat and was trying to beat you up.”</p>
<p>“But I still hurt you. I shouldn’t have… I don’t think I was thinking straight that entire time.”</p>
<p>Aubrey shook her head, “Would it make you feel better if I told you the only thing you hurt was that shirt?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know… Maybe… Weren’t you bleeding?”</p>
<p>“I was fine, I promise. You know, how about we talk about something. I don’t like when you bring up all this sad crap. I’ll always be here to talk if you need it, but I don’t like it when you beat yourself up over the past. Besides, remember what I asked you to do for today?”</p>
<p>“Yeah… sorry…”</p>
<p>“It’s okay. I forgive you… for everything…”</p>
<p>****************</p>
<p>Sunny and Aubrey returned to Aubrey’s house after dinner. It was already dark outside when they got to the door. </p>
<p>“Thank you so much Sunny, for everything!” Aubrey said while taking hold of Sunny’s hand.</p>
<p>“I-I just wanted to do something nice… I’m happy you enjoyed it.”</p>
<p>“And I’m glad you did! It’s gonna be hard to top my seventeenth birthday now. I… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, huh.” Aubrey looked sad. </p>
<p>“Actually before I go, can I use your bathroom? I… uh… drank a lot of water…”</p>
<p>“I guess, although if I were you I’d just pee outside.”</p>
<p>“I’m sure it’s fine.”</p>
<p>Sunny entered the bathroom, which wasn’t fine. He noticed the wallpaper tearing, the stains on the floor that he prayed were just water, the shower curtain that barely held on to the rod, everything was in a state he never thought imaginable. </p>
<p>“<em>Maybe I should have just gone outside… </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny finished up in the bathroom and exited to find Aubrey leaning against the wall at the hallway entrance. </p>
<p>“Looks like my mom’s not home.” She said.</p>
<p>“Really? Do you know where she is?”</p>
<p>“Don’t know, don’t care. Probably out at some bar.”</p>
<p>“I… I see…”</p>
<p>“Hey… do you remember Kel’s 11th birthday? The one where we all had a sleepover at his house.”</p>
<p>“I do...”</p>
<p>“Do you… maybe… wanna spend the night here?” </p>
<p>“W-what? R-really? I-I… um… I don’t know if I can… I-I mean I want to… but…” </p>
<p>“It’s fine if you can’t, I don’t want you to get in trouble or anything.”</p>
<p>“I-I think… I think it might be fine… I’m pretty sure my uncle is working late today, and Nanako knows how to take care of herself… I’m pretty sure…”</p>
<p>Sunny remembered what Nanako had told him before, that she was a “big girl” and could take care of herself.</p>
<p>“So… You’ll stay?”</p>
<p>“Y-yeah…”</p>
<p>“Great. I’m gonna get changed then. Don’t come into my room until I say so.”</p>
<p>“Right…”</p>
<p>Aubrey climbed the ladder to her room and Sunny wandered around the living room until he was called for. He found Aubrey wearing black sweatpants and a dark red t-shirt that was way too big for her. There was one more thing different about her, she was wearing glasses. Her natural hazel eyes could be seen behind them as opposed to the bright teal color contacts. </p>
<p>“G-glasses…” was all Sunny could say. </p>
<p>“Yeah. I wear contacts for a reason.”</p>
<p>“I-I just thought it was because they looked cool.”</p>
<p>“That’s why I got the colored ones.”</p>
<p>Aubrey started pulling some blankets off her bed as Sunny just stood there.</p>
<p>“<em>Aubrey with glasses… so cute… </em>”</p>
<p>She dropped a bunch of blankets and pillows on the floor in front of Sunny.</p>
<p>“You can sleep on my bed if you want, I don’t mind sleeping on the floor, and I know you have problems sleeping.”</p>
<p>“Oh-okay… Are you going to bed now?” Sunny asked.</p>
<p>“I was planning on it.”</p>
<p>“Alright. Well, goodnight then.”</p>
<p>“Goodnight Sunny.”</p>
<p>Sunny lied down on Aubrey’s bed. He watched her as she held tightly to the Mr. Plantegg plush that she had just received. Sunny smiled and fell asleep.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sunny awoke in a strange location. He felt sand on his back as he sat up. The place he was in appeared to be an island in the middle of an ocean. Sunny found himself wearing striped shorts and a black tank top. </p>
<p>“<em>What? No… Is he back? No! GET OUT OF MY MIND! </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny heard a voice from in front of him. It looked like someone was sitting in a beach chair, facing away from him.</p>
<p>“Man, you really did a number on Headspace…” The voice laughed.</p>
<p>“Who are you!” Sunny demanded. “Are you Omori? I got rid of you before I can do it again!”</p>
<p>The person got up from the chair and looked at Sunny. Their face was strangely shaped, in that it was just a mouth and a question mark where the eyes would be. The person also had tentacles replacing all their appendages, save for their left arm. They appeared to be wearing a black bikini bottom along with a white shirt that was much too small.</p>
<p>“I’m hurt. How could you forget your dear friend?” The person said sarcastically.</p>
<p>“Abbi?”</p>
<p>“In the flesh! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”</p>
<p>“I… I don’t understand… I thought Headspace was gone.”</p>
<p>“Well, it technically is. After your fight with Omori, everything fell to Blackspace. In the commotion, I managed to free myself and make it here! Isn’t that interesting?”</p>
<p>“Kinda… I guess… but why am I seeing you here? I’ve-”</p>
<p>“Had normal dreams ever since then? Yeah, I know.”</p>
<p>“Wh-what”</p>
<p>Despite not having eyes, Abbi still conveyed a very smug look, “Everything you see, even in dreams, I see. Everything you hear, I hear. Everything you think, I see. I know literally everything about you.”</p>
<p>“O-oh…” Sunny’s face turned red.</p>
<p>Abbi grinned, “Such as today! What an Aubrey-centric day! Everything you saw and thought, I felt that.”</p>
<p>“Please… don’t do this…” Sunny pled.</p>
<p>“Hey, I just wanna help! You know, I can change into that if you want.”</p>
<p>“Change into that? What does that mean?”</p>
<p>Abbi’s body morphed into the form of a young Aubrey. She appeared to be around twelve years old.</p>
<p>“Now how do I look,” Abbi said in Aubrey’s voice. “Just kidding, I already know you think I’m the cutest.”</p>
<p>“I really don’t like this, please stop…”</p>
<p>“I know! I’ll do this instead!”<br/>Abbi’s body once again morphed, this time into present-day Aubrey.</p>
<p>“How about now?” Abbi chuckled. “Now I’m the hot Aubrey.”</p>
<p>“Are you just going to bully me? I can wake up any time I want. I know how to now, I’ve read <em> Yume Nikki: The Dream Diary </em>.”</p>
<p>“Fine… You did always have a thing for squid girls anyways…” Abbi sighed while turning back into her original form. </p>
<p>“How is any of this help? That’s it, I’m waking up.”</p>
<p>Abbi frantically waved her hands (Tentacles? Hand and tentacle?) in front of Sunny, “No no no, please don’t. I need to tell you something VERY important.”</p>
<p>“Then tell me already.”</p>
<p>“Aubrey likes you.”</p>
<p>Sunny sighed, “Yup, you’re still being a dick.”</p>
<p>“Nope! Deep down you know it’s true.”</p>
<p>Sunny thought about what Abbi had just said for a moment. Aubrey had always treated him differently than the rest of their friends. She was also the first one out of everyone to forgive him as well.</p>
<p>Abbi reached out for Sunny’s hand, “Here, let me show you something.” The island they were standing on started to disappear and was instead replaced with a familiar hospital room. Sunny saw himself lying in the hospital bed, still covered in bandages. </p>
<p>“This is right after you told everyone the truth,” Abbi explained. “Now, let’s watch what happens here.”</p>
<p>The door to Sunny’s room opened and Aubrey walked in. Her face was red and she was acting very reserved. </p>
<p>“It’s kinda hot in here… Can I open this window?” Aubrey asked. Sunny tried to respond but could only cough. Aubrey opened the window and proceeded to slowly walk towards Sunny from the past.</p>
<p>“I’ve been thinking…” Aubrey said sadly, “well… I’m… I don’t really know how to say this…”</p>
<p>“I’m so sorry… I know I don’t deserve any forgiveness… but please know that… I am sorry.” Past Sunny mustered. His voice was hoarse. </p>
<p>“No… I… I think I want to… It’s just not fair what life gave you. It was an accident.”</p>
<p>“A horrible accident. One that I wish-”</p>
<p>“We all wish we could change what happened, but the past is in the past. I wish I wasn’t so selfish. I wish I was there when you needed me- when you needed anyone to be there.”</p>
<p>“I deserved-” Sunny started coughing once more and couldn’t finish his sentence.</p>
<p>“You didn’t deserve any of this.” Aubrey put her hand on Sunny’s, “I should have been there.”</p>
<p>“Do you hate me?” Sunny asked.</p>
<p>“I don’t hate you… None of us hate you.”</p>
<p>“Hero hates me…”</p>
<p>“Hero just needs time. I’m sure he’ll realize that this was all a big accident. He’ll forgive you.”</p>
<p>Sunny didn’t respond. He truly felt like Hero would never forgive him. The last and only thing Hero had said to him was “I’m sorry” before leaving the room. Sunny hadn’t seen nor heard from him since.</p>
<p>Aubrey reached into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper, “Here, take this. If you ever need someone to talk to, I will always answer.” She placed the paper inside Sunny’s hand. He looked at it, revealing Aubrey’s phone number. </p>
<p>“I wasn’t there when you needed me, I’m not making that mistake again.” She continued. Sunny smiled a little. Aubrey stood up and walked towards the door, “I… I should probably leave you alone, huh. Doctors might get mad if I stay here too long.”</p>
<p>“Hey, Aubrey,”</p>
<p>“Yeah?”</p>
<p>“Can you forgive Basil?”</p>
<p>Aubrey didn’t respond.</p>
<p>“Please… for me?” Sunny asked.</p>
<p>“...Okay.”</p>
<p>Present Sunny and Abbi watched Aubrey leave the room. Abbi turned to Sunny with a devious smile, “See? She likes you.”</p>
<p>“She was just being nice…” Sunny responded quietly. </p>
<p>“If you really want to think that, then go ahead. However, you could also tell her you like her…” Abbi kept her smug smile. It somehow looked similar to Mari’s smug smile she always shot at Hero.</p>
<p>Behind the two, a blue butterfly entered the room and landed on the past Sunny’s head. The past version of Sunny was sleeping and could not have noticed it. Sunny and Abbi both spotted the butterfly.</p>
<p>Sunny asked, “That’s strange, how is that in my memory?”</p>
<p>Abbi ignored Sunny, only muttering “It’s you… Philemon…” under her breath.</p>
<p>“Huh?” Sunny asked, tilting his head.</p>
<p>“I just had a great idea! How about you tell Aubrey you like her… right now!”</p>
<p>“What! No! Besides, she’s asleep. I’m asleep.”</p>
<p>“Well then, it’s time to wake up!”</p>
<p>Abbi curled up her fist and punched Sunny right in the face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sunny’s eye shot open. He found Aubrey staring directly at him. Her face quickly turned red.</p>
<p>“What are you doing?” Sunny asked.</p>
<p>“Nothing! I was…” Aubrey sighed, “You just looked so peaceful sleeping.”</p>
<p>“Is that so…” Sunny said while sitting up.</p>
<p>“Yeah… you looked kinda… cute, I guess.”</p>
<p>It was Sunny’s turn to have a red face now. Aubrey closed in on him. There was less than an inch between the two of them.</p>
<p>“Are you feeling alright?” She asked.</p>
<p>“H-huh? Y-yeah, I-I don’t know w-what you’re-”</p>
<p>“Every time I look at you, your ears do this thing where they turn red. It’s really strange.”</p>
<p>“I-Is that so…”</p>
<p>Aubrey kept her face close to Sunny’s. He only grew redder and redder.</p>
<p>“<em>Is this a sign? Was Abbi right? Maybe I should… do something about this situation… </em>” Sunny started to lean into Aubrey. Before he could make any moves, Aubrey’s TV turned on by itself. Both Sunny and Aubrey turned to see what had happened. They found Basil on the TV, wearing nothing but a bath towel.</p>
<p>“That’s Basil!” Sunny yelled.</p>
<p>“That’s <em> a lot </em> of Basil…” Aubrey said under her breath. “What’s going on…?”</p>
<p>The Basil on the TV spoke, “Welcome! Welcome, all to Big Bad Bathhouse! Today, all of you will learn how to be a sexy hunk like me!” Basil pulled a rose from seemingly nowhere and put it in his teeth, “We’ll all learn how to be the manliest man out there! You can depend on me for all your woes! I’ll see all of you beautiful boys and girls in my lovely bathhouse. Toodaloo!”</p>
<p>The screen faded to black. All Sunny and Aubrey could see was their reflections. </p>
<p>“Basil…” Aubrey shiver.</p>
<p>“We have to save him!” Sunny said quickly.</p>
<p>“How? How are we going to save him?”</p>
<p>“We’ll have to go inside that world again…” </p>
<p>Aubrey opened her mouth but didn’t say anything. Instead, she only nodded.</p>
<p>“First thing in the morning, we call up Kel, Kim, and Mikhael. Then we’ll enter that world and find Basil.” Sunny told.</p>
<p>“Right. Guess we should probably get some sleep then, we need to be in shape if we’re going to that world tomorrow…”</p>
<p>Sunny lied back down and stared at the ceiling.</p>
<p>“<em>We’re coming, Basil. I won’t leave you… not again… </em>”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I feel like there was a lot of dialogue in this chapter. I guess it fits the nature of Persona since everybody is always talking to each other. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Basil's Shadow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sunny called everyone to meet at Faraway park. As they all arrived, they began to discuss what was seen the night before. </p><p>Kel started, “I’m gonna be honest, I thought the whole Midnight Channel thing was over. I was asleep a long time before it would have started...”</p><p>Mikhael flung his fake hair out of his eyes in a desperate attempt to appear attractive, “Well, if you must know, I’ve watched the Midnight Channel every night.”</p><p>“That’s great, you wanna medal?” Aubrey responded sarcastically.</p><p>Sunny turned to Mikhael, “Does that mean you see the silhouette the night before?”</p><p>“In fact, I do! Unfortunately, I am only so great, and could not determine that it was Basil until last night…”</p><p>Kim asked, “So what’d you see then? Of course the one night I don’t watch it, something happens…”</p><p>Before Sunny or Aubrey could speak, Mikhael butted in, “Basil was buff! Like he was for real RIPPED!”</p><p>Kel almost choked on his drink, “Basil?! Buff?! That boy is a stick!” </p><p>“Yeah, it was really weird,” Aubrey started, “When we watched it, I was… well… put off I guess… by just how much of Basil I saw…”</p><p>Kim’s eyes narrowed, “We? Who’s we?”</p><p>“Me and Sun-” Aubrey quickly covered her mouth.</p><p>Kim raised an eyebrow, “You and Sunny… on the night of your birthday… saw the midnight channel… which only comes on at MIDNIGHT I might add… together?”</p><p>Aubrey grew increasingly flustered. Fortunately, Kel decided to pipe in,</p><p>“Wait, yesterday was Aubrey’s birthday?”</p><p>Kim shook her head, “You didn’t remember? Classic Kel…”</p><p>“No! I did remember! I… uh… got you this!” Kel said while pushing his half drank glass of Orange Joe in front of Aubrey.</p><p>“Gee, a bottle of my least favorite drink covered in your germs. How thoughtful…” </p><p>“Oh yeah! I got you something too,” Kim told, “An actual real gift. I’ll give it to you after we find Basil.”</p><p>“Do you know where Basil is?” Sunny asked Mikhael.</p><p>“We can enter through the TV in Othermart like last time. I can find Basil from there.”</p><p> </p><p>The group traveled to the Othermart electronics section. They all entered through the television once again and found themselves in the other world.</p><p>“I really hoped we’d never have to come back here,” Kim said quietly. </p><p>Mikhael raised his head up and started sniffing loudly. </p><p>“I have detected a Basil-like scent in this direction!” He said while pointing off into the distance, “If I’m not wrong, and The Maverick is never wrong, Basil should be this way.”</p><p>Everyone followed Mikhael until they reached what appeared to be a locker room. Thick steam enveloped the area.</p><p>“I already hate this place…” Kim said while cleaning her glasses, “It’s way too hot, and that’s not just because I’m here.”</p><p>“Then lose the hoodie,” Aubrey said while tying her jacket around her waist. </p><p>“Never! It completes the look I’m going for!” </p><p>The five walk through a door at the end of the locker room. Once again, all they found was a large hallway with minimal decoration. Basil’s voice could be heard,</p><p>“I can’t do it… I can’t protect anyone… I just make things worse…”</p><p>“What was that!?” Aubrey asked in disbelief. </p><p>“I think it’s his thoughts,” Sunny explained, “We… we heard something similar when we were coming to save you.” </p><p>“Oh… I see…” Aubrey said, turning her face away. </p><p>“Basil has always tried to be there for us…” Sunny started. He couldn’t finish that sentence. </p><p>“And we’ll be here for him!” Kel said with a smile. </p><p>“Y-yeah…” Sunny sighed. </p><p>Mikhael interjected, “Guys, I know where Basil is! I can sense him on the eleventh floor!”</p><p>“Then let’s get on it, people!” Kim commanded. “These floors aren’t gonna climb themselves!” </p><p>****************</p><p>After a while of tedious exploring and fighting against shadows, the group found themselves on floor seven. Basil’s voice was once again heard,</p><p>“I’ll never be strong. I make everyone’s life worse…”</p><p>Sunny murmured under his breath, “Dammit…”</p><p>Everyone walked a bit further into floor seven. It appeared different from the previous floors. There was only one big room with a very muscular-looking being standing in the center. </p><p>“Watch out,” Mikhael advised, “This one looks tough!”</p><p>Kel put his hands on his hips, “Yeah, but we’re tougher! We can do anything together!”</p><p>Kim groaned, “Stop with the cheesy lines and just kill it then.”</p><p>Everybody took a fighting stance as the giant groaned. </p><p>“It’s gonna do something! Watch out!” Mikhael warned. </p><p>Aubrey readied her bat, “He ain’t gonna be doing something once I’m done with him!” She struck the enemy in the stomach. It had minimal effect. The giant countered with a punch. </p><p>“Aubrey!” Sunny, Kel, and Kim all yelled out. </p><p>“I’m fine… I think… This bastard’s tough!” </p><p>Sunny clenched his fist, and called out “Principality! Hama!”</p><p>Several spears of light appeared around the giant and pierced it, but nothing happened.</p><p>“That skill only works sometimes!” Mikhael yelled out. “If you try again it might work!”</p><p>Sunny positioned himself and cast another Hama. This time, the giant disappeared instantly. </p><p>“Well, that was… something… I guess.” Kim said in bewilderment.</p><p>“That was cool!” Kel exclaimed, “You should do that all the time!”</p><p>Mikhael shook his head, “That attack almost never works and a lot of stronger shadows can’t be hurt by it. I’m honestly surprised he pulled it off.”</p><p>“Mikhael, how do you know all this stuff?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“Would you believe me if I said I don’t remember?”</p><p>“Worthless…”</p><p>****************</p><p>A few floors later, they reached the final level. All that stood between them and Basil was a large wooden door. The gang burst through and found Basil standing in front of his shadow. </p><p>“Look at you! You can’t do anything right!” Basil’s shadow jeered. “You try to be this big strong man! You try to let everyone depend on you but deep down you’re worthless!”</p><p>Basil was crying, “No… please stop…”</p><p>The group ran up behind Basil, but he paid no attention to them.</p><p>“Now would you look at this?!” The shadow continued, “All your friends are here to try and save you! Once again, you’ve let them down.”</p><p>“Basil, don’t listen to it!” Kel yelled.</p><p>“Yes, don’t listen to me. Ignore everything! Ignore the people you care about!”</p><p>Basil cried out once again, “Please! Please stop…”</p><p>“You’ll never be a real man! You can’t protect anyone! All you do is hurt people! What happens when you try to help your friends? You hang their sister!”</p><p>“SHUT UP! STOP IT! Please!”</p><p>“Yes… hide away your desire to be useful. Your desire to be relied on. All you’re good at is worthless gardening skills. But, you already know all this. I am you, and you’re me.”</p><p>“Don’t say it!” Sunny, Kel, Kim, and Aubrey all interrupted.</p><p>“No! You can’t be me!” Basil screamed.</p><p>“Fuck.” Aubrey cursed. </p><p>Basil’s shadow caught aflame. It laughed, “You and I are the same, and you can’t do ANYTHING about it!” Basil’s shadow transformed into a large muscular being. Basil’s shirtless body could be seen coming out of where its head would be. Shadow Basil’s body was surrounded by various flowers. Sunny noticed that they were all of Basil’s favorite flowers, the ones he said represented all of his friends. The real Basil appeared to have fallen unconscious on the floor.</p><p>“I am a shadow, the true self!” the shadow declared, “All of you have been a thorn in my side for too long! If I get rid of you, I won’t have to worry about anything ever again. Now… DIE!”</p><p>Two smaller muscular shadows appeared at Shadow Basil’s side. One had a distorted version of Sunny’s face while the other had Mari’s. </p><p>“I don’t like this…” Sunny shivered, “I really don’t like this…”</p><p>“We have to do this, we have to save Basil!” Aubrey told. “Now… come to me, Konohana Sakuya!” </p><p>A feminine pink being appeared behind Aubrey. </p><p>“Burn them!” She demanded. </p><p>Aubrey’s persona shot out three fireballs at each shadow. The one with Sunny’s face fell to the ground while the one with Mari’s face appeared to be unaffected. </p><p>“That one’s immune! Don’t use fire on it!” Mikhael informed.</p><p>“I can see that now, dumbass!” Aubrey retaliated. </p><p>Kim summoned her own persona, “If it likes fire, then it must not like ice! Tomoe! I need your help!” </p><p>Kim’s Persona appeared behind her and attacked all three shadows as well. The shadow with Mari’s face fell to the ground this time. </p><p>“Aw hell yeah!” Kim said while making a fist-pump. “We’ve got this!”</p><p>Basil’s shadow screamed in agony, “Stop killing my friends! That’s my job! After all, it’s all I’ve ever been able to do.” </p><p>“<em>We’re here, Basil. We’re here for you… </em>”</p><p>The shadow with Sunny’s face flexed and a strange aura surrounded Basil’s shadow. </p><p>“Watch out! Basil’s shadow is charged up! Its attacks are stronger now!” Mikhael informed. </p><p>“Alright, What’s the plan, Sunny?” Kel asked, “You’re always the man with the plan!”</p><p>“I-I don’t know… Take out the lesser shadows first I guess…”</p><p>Basil’s shadow put its hands together and four lightning bolts struck each of Sunny’s friends. Out of everyone, Kel was hurt the most. He fell to the ground.</p><p>“You alright?!” Kim worried. </p><p>“My bones hurt…” Kel replied. </p><p>“I got this!” Aubrey said. A warm light covered Kel, and he felt better.</p><p>“Wow! Thanks, Aubrey! That was really cool!” Kel said with a smile.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah. Make sure you stay on your feet next time.”</p><p>Basil’s shadow flexed its muscles, once again appearing to be charging an attack. </p><p>“Oh gosh! What are we gonna do now?” Kel said frantically, “I don’t wanna get hurt again, it hurts!” </p><p>A thought came to Sunny’s mind, “Aubrey, Kim, you two use your elemental attack on whoever’s weak to it. Kel and I will knock Basil over. We can go in for an all-out attack after that!” Everyone nodded in return. Aubrey and Kim stood back to back and both summoned their personas at the same time. </p><p>“Protect me, Tomoe!”</p><p>“Come! Konohana Sakuya!”</p><p>Aubrey and Kim struck the weaker shadows as planned, and they fell to the ground. Shortly after, Sunny and Kel both ran towards Basil’s shadow. Kel cast a wind spell below Sunny, raising him into the air. Sunny unsheathed his knife and was ready to plant it into Shadow Basil’s head. Sunny got a good look at Shadow Basil’s face, and it looked exactly like the real thing. He failed to stab Basil’s shadow and instead landed on the surrounding flowers. </p><p>“Sunny! You’re here!” The shadow said mockingly, “Maybe I can take that other eye from you, would you like that?”</p><p>Sunny summoned all his courage and put the knife through the Shadow’s body. He looked away the entire time. Sunny didn’t want to see Basil hurt, even if it was a demonic version of him. Basil’s shadow shrieked in pain and flung Sunny off towards the ground. </p><p>“You alright?” Kel asked as Sunny landed on the ground.</p><p>“It’s fine, we need to attack! Now!” Sunny commanded. </p><p>The four ran towards Basil’s shadow and its cohorts and attacked. The lesser shadows disappeared in a cloud of smoke, but the largest shadow still persisted. </p><p>“Aw, man! Big guy’s pissed now!” Mikhael hollered. </p><p>The group stepped away from Basil’s shadow, and Kim asked “Now what are we gonna do?”</p><p>Sunny put his hands on his head and tried to think of a new strategy. He couldn’t ascertain any weaknesses to Basil’s shadow. It appeared that they would have to fight it like normal until its defeat.</p><p>Basil’s shadow spoke, “I know you’ll never accept me! I’ve done everything for you and you still hate me! Once I defeat you there will be no more sorrows in my life!”</p><p>Basil’s shadow limped towards the group and swung its arms at everyone’s legs. Everyone managed to narrowly avoid the attack. </p><p>“I think it’s weak! Hit it with everything you got!” Sunny commanded. </p><p>Everyone used the strongest magic they had on Basil’s shadow at once. It fell to its knees.</p><p>“Is it over?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>The large figure that Basil’s shadow had transformed into returned to how it looked before. The battle was over. Basil’s shadow lay on the floor in front of everyone. The real basil slowly stood up.</p><p>“P-please stop… I’m not… I don’t want to be a monster…” he cried. </p><p>Everyone ran to Basil’s side and Kel consoled him, “Everything’s alright now. We beat the big scary monsters.”</p><p>“I am the big scary monster…” Basil said quietly. </p><p>Sunny tried to shush him, “No you’re not. Everything is fine now. We’re all here for you…”</p><p>“I-I just want to be someone people rely on,” Basil said. His voice began to break even more, “I want you to need me… I want to be a strong person that people depend on. That’s why I’ve taken almost every single after-school club and got a job, I just want people to want me…”</p><p>“Basil, you’re our friend,” Aubrey reassured, “You’re more than just a ‘useful person’ to us.” </p><p>Basil cried even harder, “But I-I can’t do a-anything r-right. I w-want to help a-and I just end up hurting e-everyone. I j-just wanna be st-strong…”</p><p>“But you are strong,” Sunny said, “We got through all… that stuff…”</p><p>“Plus, you already are super manly, so don’t even worry about that” Kel added with a thumbs up, “Gardening is super cool! I always see people gardening on dad channels!”</p><p>“Dad channels?” Kim groaned.</p><p>“You know, stuff a dad would watch,”</p><p>Kim groaned even louder. Basil started laughing a little.</p><p>“I’m sorry you all had to go through… whatever that was…” Basil apologized.</p><p>“It’s all okay! You’re our friend, and you’d do the same for us!” Kel said, giving a second thumbs up. </p><p>“Thanks, guys...”</p><p>Kim spoke up, “This is all really good, but can we, like, get out of here? It’s super hot in here… and not just because I’m-”</p><p>“Don’t say it again.” Aubrey sighed.</p><p>“Wait,” Basil said, “I feel like… there’s something that I need to do…” He took a step towards his shadow, who was still lying on the ground. “I always knew that you were a part of me. I hate that it seems like I always ruin everything, but I’m really trying! I’m trying my best to make my friends happy! I really am…”</p><p>Basil’s shadow nodded and started to disappear. In its place was a card with a noble-looking figure on it. At the bottom, the number IV (4) was shown. The emperor card. The card transformed into a large being with a muscular build. It held a metal lighting-bolt-shaped object in its hand. Basil had awoken his persona, Take-Mikazuchi. </p><p>“If all of you are done dawdling, I can take you out of this sauna!” Mikhael said while crossing his arms. </p><p>“Yes! Please! Let's do that!” Kim said, already walking towards the exit. </p><p>****************</p><p>The group all exited the TV world and stood in the Othermart electronic section. Basil struggled to keep up with everyone else, as he was still fatigued from what had happened earlier. He sat down on the floor next to the TV they had just exited from.</p><p>“Do you need any help?” Sunny asked. </p><p>“I’m fine… just tired…” Basil said while taking deep breaths.</p><p>“That place really takes it out of ya’” Aubrey told. </p><p>“Yeah, especially when it’s hot as hell,” Kim added, “But not just because I wa-”</p><p>“KIM, I SWEAR!” Aubrey yelled. </p><p>“How about we go outside,” Kel said, changing the subject, “I’m sure Basil would like to have some fresh air!”</p><p>“Yeah, I would like that…”</p><p>Sunny extended his arm out to Basil to help him up, and everyone made their way to Faraway Park. </p><p> </p><p>Everyone arrived at Faraway park and sat at their table together. It was rather hot outside, but not hot enough to warrant Kim making the same joke a fourth time. They all began discussing what had happened in that strange world, and how Basil had entered the TV.</p><p>“Do you remember how you entered that place?” Sunny asked Basil. </p><p>“Everything feels like a blur, but…” Basil said, putting a hand to his chin, “I remember a knock on my door and I thought that Polly had just forgotten something. I opened the door and the next thing I know I wake up in a sauna with a headache.”</p><p>“What did you do before we found you?” Sunny pressed.</p><p>“I kinda just walked around… I’m sorry if I’m not helping…” </p><p>“Any information is good!” Kel reassured, “Plus it’s kinda like we’re detectives, which I think is really cool!”</p><p>“Detectives?” Kim said with skepticism, “What are we even trying to… detect?”</p><p>“Who’s the bad guy, obviously,” Kel shook his head, “Someone’s throwing all my friends in the TV and I’m personally not a fan.” Kel closed his eyes and began to fantasize, “You can call me Kel, ace detective!”</p><p>“Ace detective?” Aubrey scoffed.</p><p>“Yup! Whatcha gonna do about it?” Kel smiled.</p><p>“Feel embarrassed for you, I guess…” </p><p>The conversation eventually drifted from the TV world to less pressing topics. </p><p>“So I had a really good idea!” Kel started.</p><p>“Impossible…” Aubrey murmured.</p><p>“I was thinking we could all go camping together sometime soon. It’d be before Hero comes and visits for the summer, but I still think it would be fun. You’ll all be free, right?”</p><p>“I’m always free,” Aubrey said leaning back in her seat.</p><p>“I probably can… when will this be?” Sunny asked.</p><p>“Sometime next week. Kim’s gonna drive us all to the spot I found.”</p><p>“Reluctantly, I might add,” Kim said.</p><p>“What about you, Basil?” Kel asked, ignoring Kim’s comment.</p><p>“I have wor-” Basil cut himself off. “You know what, I don’t have work that day. I now have better things to do!”</p><p>“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“I think… I wanna make more time for my friends… I think I might quit…”</p><p>“Whoa whoa whoa! Don’t do anything hasty now…” Kim advised. </p><p>“No, it’s okay. I’ve been way too busy recently, and I just wanna spend time with people I care about.” </p><p>“Well… if that’s what you want…” Aubrey said hesitantly. Not everybody was on board with Basil quitting his job, but he seemed to be adamant about his decision. </p><p> </p><p>The sun eventually started to set and everybody went home. Sunny found Ryotaro, Nanako, and Adachi all sat around the table.</p><p>“Ah, Sunny! Come sit with us.” Adachi said, waving Sunny over. He sat down at the table with everyone else. “You look tired, rough day?”</p><p>“I guess…”</p><p>Ryotaro’s eyes narrowed, “What’d you do today? Say, I don’t remember seeing you leave the house this morning…”</p><p>“I… uh… left early today” Sunny lied, “We were all… uh… working out… I’m trying to get… uh… fit…”</p><p>Ryotaro still looked skeptical, “You should always tell me when you leave the house. At least leave a note.” </p><p>“Okay… I’m sorry…”</p><p>“Sure you are.”</p><p>“Hey, let the kid live a little,” Adachi said, defending Sunny, “Seems like he just wanted to hang out with his friends.”</p><p>Ryotaro got more defensive, “Well, I’m his guardian, so It’s my responsibility to make sure he’s not a moron!”</p><p>“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Especially when we haven't found that killer yet. Better safe than sorry, you know?”</p><p>“Don’t talk about that!” Ryotaro smacked Adachi on the back of his head. </p><p>“Killer?” Nanako asked, tilting her head. </p><p>“Everything’s fine, Nanako. Nothing is going to happen.” Ryotaro said. </p><p> </p><p>As the night went on, everybody either left or went to bed. Sunny got in the shower and tried to wash away all the ache in his body. The hot water against all the bruises of battle stung. He thought about all the events that had transpired.</p><p>“<em>Why Aubrey? Why Basil? Why are all my friends getting kidnapped? Is this some divine punishment? I probably deserve this, but they don’t… so why? </em>”</p><p>Sunny exited the shower and got ready for bed. As he began to drift he felt a presence standing next to him.</p><p>“Abbi?” He said while struggling to open his eye.</p><p>“You feel it… don’t you…” Abbi’s voice was not as expressive as it was the day before.</p><p>“If by ‘it’ you mean this massive headache, then yes.”</p><p>Sunny noticed something in Abbi’s hand. She held a card with a skull on it between her fingers. The number at the bottom could not be made out.</p><p>“It appears you do not yet grasp the power of the death arcana. In time, you will understand your fate.”</p><p>“What are you even talking about?” Sunny asked while sitting up. Sunny’s eye was fully open, but he couldn’t see Abbi anywhere. Sunny rubbed his eyes and lied back down. He didn’t want to (or even had enough strength to) think about what had just happened. He instead thought about the camping trip he and his friends would soon be on.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I felt like the whole dungeon segment went faster than it should have. I'm not quite sure yet how I want to write them exploring dungeons since all they would really doing is walking around and fighting table monsters.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Camping Trip</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry about the extended period of no updates, I was gone for a week with no internet. I originally wrote this before I left and left the editing until I got back.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>A few days had passed since Basil fell into the TV world. Sunny and his friends were about to leave on a camping trip. Sunny packed all his clothes away, which wasn’t a lot since he would only be gone for a day. Eventually, he heard a knock on the door. Sunny heard Basil’s voice from outside,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think this is the place…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m pretty sure it is... unless Kel lied to us.” Aubrey’s muffled voice could also be heard. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny opened the door and found his two friends there, each holding a duffle bag. Basil’s was solid green while Aubrey’s was pink with a bunny pattern on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey… what are you doing here?” Sunny asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kel told us to come here,” Basil explained, “He said that he and Kim had to pick some stuff up and that they’d meet us here since you live closer to the highway than we do…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see… Well, come in… I guess…” Sunny said while ushering his friends inside. Nanako ran up to Sunny to see who he was talking to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who are you?” she asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re Sunny’s friends. I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced,” Basil said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey knelt down to Nanako’s eye level, “Aren’t you just the cutest thing!” she said in a baby voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, didn’t think I’d ever hear Aubrey say something like that…” Basil chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up!” Aubrey snapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just think you look like a big sister right now,” Basil said while scratching the back of his neck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually Sunny is my big bro!” Nanako said cheerfully. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh really…” Aubrey said with a smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s… uh… you know, why don’t I show you my room,” Sunny said desperately trying to change the subject. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds cool,” Basil agreed. Sunny led his friends up to his room. It was mostly clean except for Sunny’s many stuffed animals strewn about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s very you,” Aubrey commented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I guess. I don’t really know how to respond to that…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Sunny,” Basil began to ask, “There's a lake at the camping spot we’re going to, are you gonna go swimming with us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could... although I don’t really swim all that well…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s only three feet deep, or so I’m told,” Aubrey stated, “Although, If either of you two doesn’t want to…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I’ll be fine then…” Sunny said while looking in his drawers for a swimsuit, “If Basil is okay with it then I should be too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m bringing some floaties too! I’ll let you borrow one if you want,” Basil offered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll think about it…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you guys sure about this?” Aubrey seemed concerned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll be fine,” Sunny said, “Plus, we’ll all be in the same place if anything happens, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’re right… I guess I’m getting worked up over nothing…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shortly after their conversation, there was another knock on the door. Everyone found Kim standing there, while Kel sat in her car.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You guys ready? Let’s get this show on the road, bitc- ACK! There’s a child!” Kim noticed Nanako standing behind Sunny and his friends. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think we’re all ready to go,” Basil said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny waved goodbye to Ryotaro and Nanako while he, Basil, and Aubrey all left the house. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You three are gonna have to sit in the back.” Kim told as the three put their luggage in the trunk, “Kel! Feet off the dash!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are no fun whatsoever,” Kel whined while everyone else took their seats. Sunny sat in the middle, between Aubrey and Basil. Kim pulled out of the driveway and drove off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is everything back there?” Kim asked, “Are you crowded back there? Is the AC fine?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey smiled deviously, “Oh yeah, the air conditioning is super nice, right Sunny?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t do this…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw yeah!” Kel agreed, “Sunny loves air conditioning!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim was confused, “Is there some joke here I’m not in on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She doesn’t know?” Kel giggled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She doesn’t know!” Aubrey laughed along.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Basil sighed, “Come on guys, it wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> funny...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny hid his face in his hands from embarrassment as his friends joked about his infamous love of air conditioning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So this one time when we were really little, “Aubrey explained, still chuckling, “I think we were like ten at the time. Anyways, it was really hot outside and Sunny was sitting in front of the AC, and out of nowhere, Sunny just says ‘I fucking love air conditioning’ and his sister was SO MAD.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To be fair, you’re the one who taught me that word…” Sunny responded quietly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! While that may or may not be true, I’m still not the one who said that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Neither of us even knew it was a bad word!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This story just keeps getting better and better!” Kim said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still, Sunny’s the last person you’d think would say the F-word,” Kel stated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The F-word? C’mon, Kel, say fuck,” Aubrey dared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No way! You can’t trick me again!” Kel argued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Again?” Basil said, tilting his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cmon, Kel, say it!” Aubrey insisted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel sighed, “You better not do what you did last time then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d never!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel groaned, “Fine… Fuck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He said it!” Kim burst</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey laughed, “Ohhh! I’m gonna tell your mother!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said you wouldn’t do that!” Kel whined.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I lied.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cmon, guys,” Basil pleaded, “Stop fighting…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny couldn’t help but chuckle, albeit quietly. There was something about a classic “Kel and Aubrey fight” that brought a feeling of nostalgia to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>******************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few hours passed and the inevitable boredom of a road trip had arrived. Sunny pulled a book and began to read.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How can you read in a car?” Basil asked, “Whenever I try, I always get sick.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very carefully.” Sunny deadpanned</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see… What are you reading?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yume Nikki: The Dream Diary.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds weird. What’s it about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This girl who sleeps all the time to escape real life. It’s supposedly written by the main character of the story.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Interesting… Any reason why you chose to read that?” Basil looked a little nervous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess… It hits close to home…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?” Aubrey said without looking away from the window she was staring out of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny sighed, “I’m… I’m not proud of what I did… I just… It’s comforting to know that I’m not the only one like that, I guess… Plus, it’s pretty informative, I know how to deal with nightmares more now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What kind of nightma-” Basil started, but was cut off by Kim yelling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kel! Stop changing the music! Nobody wants to hear that shit you think is good!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But it IS good!” Kel said while continuing to press buttons on the radio. Eventually, a news station popped up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And now you put on the news,” Kim groaned, “Are you some old loser with nothing better to do with their life?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, this is interesting! They’re talking about our school.” Kel told. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everybody listened to what the announcer said, “Faraway High’s swimming competition has come to an end. Here we have the winner of the competition, what’s your name dear?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another voice was heard, “My name’s Cris. I just wanna say I’m-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I know her!” Kel interrupted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who is she, your girlfriend?!” Kim taunted. It went over Kel’s head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope, she’s my neighbor. I know she’s on the swim team, but I didn’t know she won. That’s pretty cool.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could care less.” Kim groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s actually ‘I couldn’t care less’,” Basil corrected, “Saying you could care less implies that you do care.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim sighed, “I hate every single person in this car,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did I do!” Aubrey protested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re fine, and I guess Sunny is too.” Kim said, waving a hand in the air, “These fuckers, however…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>******************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few more hours passed and they had finally arrived at the campsite. Not much was there besides a fire pit and tree stumps that acted as chairs. Kim parked and everyone got out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna set up the tents,” Kim said, “Not that I need any help, but it sure would be nice for someone to lend a hand.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, good, you don’t need any help,” Kel said while walking away. Kim grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him towards the trunk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kel! Thanks for volunteering!” She said forcefully. The remaining three decided to explore the area.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is a pretty nice area,” Basil thought out loud, “Wide open space, pretty trees, I like it here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is pretty cool,” Aubrey added, “I feel like we should help Kim out. Kel’s probably trying to weasel out of doing work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny, Aubrey, and Basil walked over to the trunk where they found Kim searching all over for something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you looking for?” Basil asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The tent,” Kim said somewhat angrily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just gave it to me,” Kel shook the container for a tent in his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The other tent, dickweed!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What other tent?” Kel had a confused look on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you to bring two! One for Aubrey and I, and one for the three of you! Did you forget!?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope, I specifically remember you asking if I had two tents, and I said yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So where the hell is the other one!” Kim was seething. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I thought that since we had a really big tent, I would only have to bring one. Save on space, you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim leaned against the side of her car and buried her head into her arms, “Kel, can you do me a favor? Can you kick your own ass for me? I’m really not up for it right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I loathe you…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong with us all sleeping in the same tent?” Kel asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do I really have to spell it out for you?” Kim huffed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it’ll be fine, Kim,” Aubrey told, “I’ve had sleepovers with these guys before and they’re not gonna do anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever,” Kim groaned, “Not like we can get another tent anyways. Kel’s lucky I don’t make him sleep outside.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone helped each other set up the tent. It was moderately easy since they all worked together. They all took a break after they finished. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what should we do now?” Basil asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought we could go swimming first!” Kel told, “After that, we could have dinner and tell scary stories around the fire.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds fun…” Sunny said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great! Let’s all go swimming right now then!” Kel exclaimed. He got up and started to run off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you wanna get changed first?” Basil asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah! That’s probably a good idea.” Kel said sheepishly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We could get changed a lot faster if we had more than one tent…” Kim grumbled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny got changed first. He wore simple black trunks for his swimsuit. Sunny refused to take his eyepatch off. Kel got changed next, into a set of orange tunks with a yellow flower pattern all over it. Basil got changed third, into green trunks. He did not look as muscular as his shadow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh…” Kim said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” Basil asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, nothing. I was just… expecting something different.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Basil looked very confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it.” Kim pushed past Basil to get changed. She exited the tent in dark green shorts and a striped yellow top. Lastly, Aubrey got changed and came out wearing a pink and white bikini.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where is this lake you’re taking us?” Aubrey asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s this way!” Kel said waving everyone over to follow him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we just gonna leave all our stuff here?” Kim asked, “What if someone jacks our shit?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re in the middle of the forest, nobody’s even around,” Kel told. He sounded sure of himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing…” Basil said quietly</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everythings fine. I’ve been here millions of times, nothing bad will happen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everybody followed Kel off into the forest. Less than five minutes later, they found the lake that he had talked about. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, isn’t it nice?” Kel asked, “Water’s super clear and everything!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is pretty,” Basil said while taking a camera out of his bag.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim ran into the water, “Are you coming, or are you just gonna stand there and admire the beauty?” The water was not very deep, it only reached up to her waist. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah, Kim, You still got your glasses on!” Aubrey told. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not gonna put my head underwater and Sunny has his eyepatch on too,” Kim said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright… Just be careful. Both of you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everybody got into the lake. Sunny felt like he had just entered a freezer. Despite his frantic shivering, everyone else seemed to be fine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, Sunny, you okay?” Kel asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-y-yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look like a turbo nutcracker.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell is a turbo nutcracker?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, his teeth are going crazy mode. Must be cold.” Kel tried to explain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you speak a real language?” Aubrey was getting annoyed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“¡Sunny tiene mucho frío!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One I understand!” Aubrey groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel laughed and Aubrey splashed water at him. Kel retaliated with a much bigger wave, and war began. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, cool it!” Kim said while trying to defend herself, “You’re gonna get me all wet!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s just what happens when you go swimming!” Kel laughed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A flash of light appeared from the shore. Everyone saw Basil holding his camera, pointed at them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You all looked like you were having fun!” Basil said with a smile. “I just had to capture the moment.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>******************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After their swim, everyone returned to the campsite and got back into their regular clothes. Aubrey and Kim decided to prepare dinner while Sunny, Kel, and Basil tried to start a fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw this on TV once,” Kel said while rubbing two sticks together, “It will make a fire any second now!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny pulled a lighter out of his back pocket, “Hey, Kel, I got a fire going.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What! How?!” Kel quickly turned his head to see, “Hey! That’s cheating!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But it works...” Sunny leaned down and started the fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do you even have that?” Basil asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re camping, why wouldn’t I have a lighter on me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few moments later, Kim and Aubrey handed everyone a plate. It looked like a strange purple sludge. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw yeah! Time to dig in!” Kel said while grabbing a fist full of the substance. He had three handfuls until his face froze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you alright?” Basil shivered. Kel didn’t respond. He just sat there, unmoving. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think he liked it,” Kim said with a smile, “Well, your turn now!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny looked to Basil. They both had fear in their eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I made yours specifically for you, Sunny,” Aubrey said happily. There seemed to be no malice behind her voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny turned to Basil and whispered, “I have a really weak stomach…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me too…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny slowly brought a spoonful of food to his mouth. He could only describe the taste as “not edible”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You like it?” Aubrey asked innocently. Sunny forced himself to nod.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Basil grabbed Sunny by the wrist and began to pull him away into the forest, “I just remembered, I need to take my medicine before I eat. Sunny, why don’t you come with me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do you need help taking medicine?” Kim asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it!” Basil said. The two had successfully fled from the toxin Kim and Aubrey had created. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as they were out of sight, Sunny spat out the “food” onto the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t taking any chances,” Basil said quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You saved me…” Sunny panted. “Oh god, Aubrey said she made that special for me…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… she did…” Basil crossed his arms, “You wouldn’t happen to… maybe… still have a crush on her, would you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny gasped, “W-why does it matter. W-what if I do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you do… Have you told her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! I-I’m just… uh… I don’t know… Waiting for the right time I guess. D-don’t worry about it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… I see...” Basil looked slightly disappointed, “Well… if you ever need any help with anything, I gladly will…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two slowly returned to the campsite. They were in awe when they found that Kel had eaten all the food. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell?” Sunny muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“HOW!” Basil blurted, and then immediately covered his mouth.</span>
</p><p> <span>“We just went on an eating spree,” Kim said almost emotionlessly, “He was an unstoppable beast.” </span></p><p>
  <span>“He ate it… all of it…” Aubrey shook her head. A smile appeared on her face once again. “Don’t worry though, I’ll make more for you some other time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great…” Sunny and Basil sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>******************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sun eventually set and the fire grew. Kim begged everyone to tell scary stories and everybody else eventually conceded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim started the story, “It was a dark and overcast night. Four high school students, much like ourselves-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But there’s five of us…” Basil interrupted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe it’s the fact that they are students like we are…” Aubrey thought out loud.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shush! This is my story! Also, this story is entirely true!” Kim yelled. “Anyways, four high school students found an abandoned mansion and decided to go inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s just stupid,” Kel said, “Why would they do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, Kel! This is still my story! So, they all entered the mansion, but no one was there!” Kim made a spooky hand motion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooooh, very scary!” Basil shuddered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, right? Then there was this one guy, he was all like ‘I’m scared, there’s probably monsters here,’ while this other dude said ‘monsters aren’t real, idiot!’ and he went to another room of the house.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They split up? Bunch of dumbasses.” Aubrey commented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Silence from the peanut gallery!” Kim demanded, “Anyways, this funky dude...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Funky dude,” Basil whispered</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim continued, “... went into the kitchen to find something, probably a snack, probably had a severe case of the munchies. But then, disaster arose! He heard a scream and he ran into the entrance room! Once he got there, no one was present.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m shaking in my boots,” Kel said sarcastically.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not wearing boots,” Basil observed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t I say be quiet?” Kim said angrily. “You’re ruining the mood! Now let me tell my story! So, Funky dude in the entrance room to a big house. No one’s there… until… a blue demon with a huge head!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is just the plot of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ao Oni</span>
  </em>
  <span>…” Sunny commented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kim said defensively, “Plus, that’s a horror movie. I didn’t take you for someone who would like that kinda stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… uh… don’t really… I just happened to see it one day…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, the story's ruined now…” Kim pouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… S-sorry…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah, I’m just joshin’ bro. It was a stupid story anyway.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… Okay then…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would like to say something,” Basil interjected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooh! Scary story from Basil!” Kim said happily. “Let’s hear it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not really a story, I was just wondering… about all that stuff with the TV… What was that all about? I still haven't been able to wrap my head around it…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We just… kinda went into the TV one day and got some weird magical powers…” Sunny tried to explain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… but why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No one could answer that question. Truly the whole concept was so bizarre that they couldn’t even begin to understand it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All we know is some maniac is trying to hurt us,” Aubrey said, “Obviously, they aren’t very good at it since we’re still here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mikhael is the only guy who seems like he would know and he hasn’t told us anything,” Kim said, “Keeps saying he ‘forgot’ or some bullshit excuse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just thought… this is all very strange… I would like to understand it more…” Basil explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, maybe one day Mikhael will explain everything to us…” Kel wondered, “Probably not, the great and mighty Maverick would never be useful.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You got that right!” Aubrey agreed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everybody decided that it was time to go to bed. They all set up their sleeping bags in the tent. There wasn’t as much room as Kel anticipated, only leaving space between the boy’s side and the girl’s side. Kim slept next to the wall on the left. On the right, Kel slept in between Sunny and Basil. Sleeping on the ground was not comfortable for Sunny. Everyone besides him seemingly fell asleep instantly. Sunny looked over at Aubrey’s face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>She looks so peaceful…</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To Sunny’s surprise, Aubrey spoke to him, asking “You can’t sleep either?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I didn’t know you were awake,” Sunny whispered back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey rolled over on her back, “Sometimes I have a hard time falling asleep… You’re probably the same way, aren’t you…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… Honestly, I’ve been having a bunch of weird dreams lately…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nightmares?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not particularly… just weird ones.” Sunny recalled all the strange people he’s recently met in dreams. Igor, Margaret, Abbi, that strange blue butterfly. Were these people real?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How so?” Aubrey asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s… hard to explain… I guess…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see…” Aubrey sounded a little disappointed, “One time, I had a dream that Spaceboy blew up the moon. That’s kinda weird, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will you two shut up?” Kim waved her hand in the air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry…” Aubrey and Sunny said simultaneously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were quiet for the rest of the night. Sunny closed his eyes and fell asleep. He had a really good day that day. Spending time with his friends like old times brought a happiness he thought had been long lost.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. I need a Hero</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter has fluff, angst, AND sunburn. You're getting the whole package.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sunny lay on his bed, anxious for the next day. Tomorrow, Hero will be visiting Faraway for the Summer and Sunny was terrified. Hero was the only person who had yet to forgive him. Sunny tossed and turned in his bed until he eventually fell into slumber.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny awoke in his room. Not the one at his uncle’s house, but the room he grew up in. His computer was still there. Mari’s bed was still there. Everything appeared to be as it was five years ago. A harsh red light came in through the window. Sunny was definitely dreaming. Intrigued, he got out of bed and slowly walked towards the door. He raised his hand to turn the handle, until…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a voice said from behind Sunny. He turned around to see who it was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Abbi? What are you-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Abbi leaned up against the wall in front of Sunny’s computer, “Or, you could go through that door. Who knows what’ll happen.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s going on?” Sunny asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Abbi smiled smugly. “Only way to find out is by facing your fears I guess…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny turned back towards the door and put his hand on the doorknob, “You just said I shouldn’t go through this door, now you want me to?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It requires great courage to look at oneself honestly, and forge one’s own path…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“W-what?” Sunny turned back to Abbi, but she was no longer there. He decided to face whatever might be beyond his room and turned the doorknob and entered the hallway outside his room. The door aggressively slammed behind him and appeared to be locked. There was no turning back. Sunny looked forward and found the top of the stairs, the worst place in the world, the one place he wished to avoid for the rest of his life. He saw Aubrey standing at the top of the stairs, looking down to the bottom.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get away from there!” Sunny tried to yell, but he could barely get anything out. From the darkness, a shadowy yet familiar figure emerged. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hero?” Sunny called out. He studied Hero’s face. It looked distorted and demonic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You… you took everything from me…” The demonic form of Hero groaned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“N-no… I-I’m sorry… please don’t hurt me!” Sunny pleaded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The demonic form of Hero turned towards Aubrey, “You took away my love... and now I will take away yours!” Hero pushed Aubrey down the stairs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny wanted to scream, but he couldn’t. He ran forward and looked at where Aubrey landed. She lay in a puddle of her own blood, surrounded by other people Sunny cared about. Basil, Kel, Kim… everyone... dead on the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“N-no… No no no…” Sunny said to himself. He raised his hand to his cheek and tried to wake himself up, but he felt something grab ahold of his neck. Sunny was hoisted into the air. He couldn’t move. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You stole everything from me,” Hero said, “I will never forgive you. No one will ever forgive you. You are beyond redemption.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t want to… I’m so sorry…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You will never be able to atone for your sins. Eternal damnation is all that awaits you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny struggled to break free from Hero’s grasp, but couldn’t. There was only one thing left he could do,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“P-Puh-Persona!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something slashed Hero’s hand, causing him to lose grasp on Sunny’s neck. Unfortunately, Sunny was being held right above the stairs. He quickly fell to the bottom floor.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny woke up with a jolt. His head hurt, his breathing was labored, his whole body was shaking, there were tears in his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Mari… I’m so sorry… I’m Sorry, Mari… I’m…</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny looked around his room. There was no one there. No one to hurt him. No one to help him. No one to comfort him. No one to love him. Nanako wouldn’t understand what was going on, and Ryotaro probably wouldn’t care. Sunny put his hand over his heart. It felt like it was going to pop out of his chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please calm down… Please… I… I can’t… I’m sorry…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny looked over to his phone. It showed that it was only 1:39 AM. Despite everything that happened, Sunny still had an entire night ahead of him. Sunny began looking through his contacts,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t do this…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He clicked on Aubrey’s name,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>This is a stupid idea. Why am I so stupid?...</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hit “Call”.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please don’t pick up. Please don’t pick up. Plea-</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello?” Aubrey answered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny hesitated to respond, “A-Aubrey…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sunny? What’s up?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… uh… I had a nightmare…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>God this is so stupid. Why would she… Why would anyone care?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is everything alright?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ye-... no… I’m… I’m scared…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you usually do when you have a nightmare?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… uh…” Sunny thought about it for a moment, “At home, we have a picture of Mari that I will… talk to…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well… You are in Faraway now… do you wanna go talk to the actual Mari?” Aubrey proposed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“R-right now? It’s the middle of the night…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure! I’ll go with you too… If you want.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh-Okay… I’ll… I’ll go…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright. Meet me in front of my house. It’s on the way to the cemetery anyways.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny and Aubrey both hung up. Sunny put on some jeans and a hoodie and he quietly left the house. He found Aubrey leaning up against the wall of her house, looking rather anxious. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sunny! Is everything alright?” Aubrey asked while quickly walking towards him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I really don’t know…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two started walking towards the church. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was kinda surprised you’re up this late…” Sunny said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I told you that I would always answer if you called me,” Aubrey told. Shortly after, she sighed, “Plus… My mom had… ‘company’... so I don’t usually sleep when that happens.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, It’s fine. Plus it seems like you had a much worse night than me. If you don’t mind, could you tell me what your nightmare was about?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny debated how much of his dream he wanted to share, if any. He really didn’t want to talk about him seeing his friend’s dead bodies. “I… uh… I’m… I’m really scared of seeing Hero again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you had a dream about Hero… What did he do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He… I was at my old house and Hero was there. He said that he would never forgive me… that no one would ever forgive me...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know that’s not true…” Aubrey put her hand on Sunny’s shoulder. “Kel and I have-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But Hero hasn’t!” Sunny interrupted, “He hasn’t said anything to me since the hospital. He hates me… I killed the love of his life and he hates me…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well… you’ll get to see him tomorrow… We’ll see what he says then, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But what if yells at me? What if he hates me? What do I do then?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey sighed deeply. “If he does… we’ll still be there for you. No matter what, I’ll always stay by your side…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny blushed slightly, “I-I don’t know what to say…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to say anything… I’m here for you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two arrived at the church and entered the graveyard behind it. Despite it being the middle of the night, there was no spooky or ominous feeling around. The graveyard somehow felt serene. Sunny and Aubrey walked up to Mari’s grave. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mari Narukami. The sun shined brighter when she was here…” Sunny read aloud, “What a cruel irony…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve ruined a lot of lives, including my own. I ruined everything ever since that day…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sunny…” Aubrey said sadly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny knelt at his sister’s grave. “Hi, Mari… It’s been a while…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey took a step back, “I’ll stand over here… I’ll try not to eavesdrop too much.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny took a deep breath, “Mari, I… uh… I had a bad dream. You always comforted me when I had nightmares, so I wanted to talk to you. I… I’m sorry… for everything… I’m a horrible brother, aren’t I? I-I miss you, Mari. I miss how you would let me sleep in your bed when I was scared. I miss how you would sing to me so I would feel better.” Sunny could hear Aubrey whimpering behind him. Was she crying? “Mari… I’m so… so… so sorry for everything I did. I-I think about you every day. I pray that you can forgive me… I’m so sorry.” Sunny wiped the tears out of his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny felt himself enter a warm embrace, “A-Aubrey,” he sniffled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay Sunny, I’m here. You’re very brave, you know that?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No… I’m not” Sunny said, still crying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course you are. Every single thing I’ve seen you do in the past year proves it!” Aubrey told, “Telling us what happened at the hospital, taking charge when you don’t want to, saving my and Basil’s lives, all that stuff just shows how brave you are. I’m… I’m really proud of you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny let out a very small smile while he wiped the tears from his face once again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cmon, Sunny, I’ll walk you home if you want,” Aubrey offered, “You look cold, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t wanna stay at a graveyard in the middle of the night.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’d… I’d like that…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two exited the graveyard and made their way towards Sunny’s (uncle’s) house. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sunny, you said you were your old house in your dream, right?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was just wondering, do you think about your old house a lot?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sometimes. I do miss the place… I have a lot of memories from there… good and bad… I wonder what the people who live there now think of the place.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve only ever seen someone there once,” Aubrey told, “There was this old blond guy in a wheelchair and a younger lady behind him. They almost never leave the house though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are the pinwheels still there?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know, actually. They wouldn’t have any reason to move them, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I hope…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>******************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey and Sunny arrived at the doorstep of his uncle’s house. Sunny quietly opened the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Sunny…” Aubrey began.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey started playing with her hands. “I… Are you gonna be alright?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh… I don’t know… Probably?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh… It’s just that… You said that Mari would always comfort you when you had a nightmare, and I know you don’t like being alone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well… I don’t want to invite myself, but if it’s okay with you, I could spend the night here. Only if you want…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I’d like that…” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two quietly walked up into Sunny’s room, as to not wake anyone. Sunny didn’t know if he was even allowed to have someone over, let alone someone like Aubrey. He got changed into his pajamas in the bathroom. Afterward, he showed Aubrey into his room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny gestured towards the futon, “You can sleep here, I guess… I don’t think you’d like sleeping on the floor, right?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmph…” Aubrey grunted in affirmation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny got under the covers of his bed. Shortly after, he felt the weight of the mattress shift. He turned to find Aubrey lying next to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A-A-Aubrey!? What are you doing!?” Luckily, the light was turned off, or Aubrey could see his face turn as red as a tomato. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You used to sleep next to Mari when you were little, right?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-yeah.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I figured I could do the same. If you’re okay with that…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh… That’s fine… T-thank you,” Sunny blushed. He rolled over so both his and Aubrey’s backs faced each other. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Sunny,” Aubrey said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Goodnight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny removed his eyepatch and tried to fall asleep. Some time passed and Sunny’s head started to hurt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Damn it, not again. Guess it’s pain medication time.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny slowly got out of bed and went towards the bathroom. He looked back at Aubrey as he left the room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Good, I didn’t wake her.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny entered the bathroom and swallowed his pain medication. Afterward, he started staring at himself in the mirror. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I wonder if Aubrey thinks I smell bad. Mari did always like to call me a stinky boy… I hated that... I miss Mari...</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny threw his shirt off and applied deodorant. He continued to study his own face in the mirror, specifically his damaged eye. It looked milky white and was not very good for seeing out of. Sunny could still use his damaged eye, but everything appeared blurry. Across the left side of his face was the scar that Basil had left there. </span>
</p>
<p><span>“</span><em><span>I wonder if this will ever heal. Probably not… I’ll never be able to-</span></em><span>”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“Whatchya lookin’ at there, muscle man?” Sunny heard Aubrey’s voice. Sunny jumped back in both fear and embarrassment. He covered his damaged eye with one of his hands and his chest with the other. Aubrey leaned against the door frame, looking rather smug. </span></p>
<p>
  <span>“A-Aubrey! I was just… uh… I didn’t know you were awake.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey raised an eyebrow, “That doesn’t answer my question.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh!... I was just… Looking at my eye! Yeah…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you had to take your shirt off to do that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well… no… but I… uh…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey stepped towards Sunny, “Can I see your eye?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? N-no…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why not?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m just… embarrassed about it I guess…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey lightly punched Sunny in the shoulder, “C’mon, I bet you look badass.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Badass?” Sunny’s face lit up, “I… I guess I could let you see it…” Sunny lowered his arms to his sides. Aubrey began closely inspecting Sunny’s face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn, that does look really cool!” Aubrey complimented, “Different colored eyes, a fresh scar, you got the whole package! Does it hurt?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sometimes… I was just taking some medicine because my head hurt, maybe that’s why…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Again, you had to take your shirt off for that?” Aubrey's smug smile returned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“N-no! Shut up!” Sunny turned his face away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey’s gaze turned down from Sunny’s face towards his exposed stomach area, “Hey, I never noticed this before…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey pointed to a bunch of light markings on Sunny’s abdomen, “What happened here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing!” Sunny said defensively.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey furrowed her brow, “Okay, you can’t hide it from me. What happened?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing! I’m fine!” Sunny pushed past Aubrey and went back into his room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sunny!” Aubrey followed closely behind. Before he could get back into bed, Aubrey forcefully grabbed his wrist and sat him down. “Sunny! Tell me what’s going on!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t do it anymore!” Sunny blurted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t do </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span> anymore!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny couldn't hide it anymore. He put his head in his hands. “Look, I… I hated myself. I… uh…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please don’t tell me…” Aubrey started. There was both sadness and fear in her voice, “... did you… hurt yourself?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny nodded slightly, “I… I wanted to punish myself for what I did… I… um… I’m sorry I hid it from you… I didn’t want anyone to worry about me…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey wrapped her arms around Sunny, “No… Don’t be sorry about anything. I’m the one who should be sorry. I should have been there for you all those years ago. Instead, I only thought of myself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But it’s all my fault…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sunny, you were just a stupid kid. I was a stupid kid. We were all just stupid kids making stupid decisions…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess… but-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey shushed Sunny, “It’s okay now. We’re all together now, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-yeah…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just… please promise me one thing, okay?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you’re ever hurting… please ask for help. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep on repeating it, but I’ll always be here for you if you need me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Promise?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I promise…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two plopped down onto the bed. Aubrey still held Sunny in her arms. Sunny lay his head on Aubrey’s chest. He could hear Aubrey’s heartbeat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You said your sister would sing to you when you were sad, right?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-yeah…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What would she sing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“‘You Are My Sunshine’, I know it’s a baby song, but it was really calming when she sang it to me…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey started to sing, “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny started sobbing uncontrollably, “A-A-Aubrey…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aubrey… thank you…” Sunny closed his eyes. A moment later, he felt something warm on his forehead. He ignored it for a moment, until,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What was that? Did someone kiss my forehead? DID AUBREY KISS ME?!?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny’s eyes shot open. He raised his head up to look at Aubrey’s face. She had a smile on her face, but she looked like she was sleeping.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aubrey…” Sunny said. Aubrey didn’t respond. He nudged her slightly. “Aubrey.” She still didn’t respond. Sunny laid his head back onto Aubrey.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe I just imagined it…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>******************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Morning came, and Sunny was still in Aubrey’s arms. Sunny opened his eyes and saw that Aubrey was already awake. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good morning!” Aubrey said cheerfully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good morning, Aubrey. What time is it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey handed Sunny his phone. He found one unopened text message,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>JUNE 24th, 20XX. 11:42 AM</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel&gt; Hero arrived this morning! You all should come and say hi!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny put his head in his hands, “Oh god…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, It’s gonna be okay,” Aubrey reassured. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny got dressed and they both headed down the stairs. Nanako was sitting by herself in the living room. She looked very confused as to why Aubrey was there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing here?” Nanako asked. “Are you two married?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Both Sunny and Aubrey blushed. Aubrey tried to defend herself, “W-what?! No, we were just… um…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is Ry- I mean is your dad here?” Sunny asked, desperately trying to change the subject.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dad is at work… Should I tell him you had a friend over?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“NO!” Sunny said quickly. “It’s… uh…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s part of a surprise!” Aubrey lied, “If you tell him it’ll ruin it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ohhh, okay!” Nanako smiled. She went back to what she was doing before. Sunny and Aubrey quickly left the house. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I can’t believe that worked…” Sunny said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Honestly, me neither.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two started off towards Kel’s house,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You look like you’re walking to your own execution…” Aubrey frowned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you’re not. Everything’ll be fine…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny and Aubrey arrived at Kel’s doorstep. Aubrey raised her hand to knock, but Sunny reached out and grabbed her wrist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t…” Sunny said. Aubrey could see the fear in his eye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you just never gonna talk to Hero again?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… uh…” Sunny stepped backward. He wanted to run away. This time, Aubrey grabbed his wrist. Her grip was much stronger than his.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everything will be alright. I’m right here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What if he tries to hurt me!?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey sighed, “If Hero tries to do anything… I’ll protect you, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny slowly raised his hand and knocked on the door. Shortly after, Kel answered. Sunny flinched as the door opened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, you’re here!” Kel exclaimed, “Come on in!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone stepped inside. It looked like they were the first to arrive.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yo Hero! People are here!” Kel yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“One second!” Hero could be heard from the kitchen. Sunny froze in place at the sound of Hero’s voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey whispered to Sunny, “Everything alright?” Sunny couldn’t respond. Aubrey squeezed his hand, “I believe in you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hero walked into the room. Of course, Aubrey’s pink hair stood out and Hero noticed her first, “Ah, Aubrey! How have you be-” Hero noticed Sunny standing next to her, and locked eyes with him. Neither of them spoke. Sunny began shivering. He wanted to run but was paralyzed. </span>
</p>
<p> <span>“</span><em><span>Oh god… oh god… he’s going to kill me. He’s going to kill me and I deserve it… Hero is going to</span></em><span>”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>“Sunny!” Hero said cheerfully. The inflection in Hero’s voice confused Sunny. Hero walked towards Sunny and gave him a hug so big, Sunny’s feet weren’t even touching the ground. “How have you been? I haven't seen you in so long!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh… uh… I’ve been… uh… good?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hero, let him down…” Kel sighed, “Sunny would probably like to breathe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, sorry about that.” Hero lowered Sunny back to the floor. “Anyways, I’m happy to see you! Glad you’ve been good. Anyways, I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A knock was heard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I’ll get that.” Hero said while walking towards the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny turned to Aubrey. She smiled, “What did I say?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… didn’t expect that…” Sunny said quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See! I knew things would work out. I’m always right, aren’t I”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Say it! Say I’m always right!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hero opened the door and everyone saw Kim standing there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whoa, hey hot stuff…” She said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um… Kel who is this?” Hero asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s Kim, our friend. Don’t you remember?” Kel responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Vaguely, I guess…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kim entered the house. Everyone sat down in the living room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Looks like everyone’s here then, right?” Hero said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Basil isn’t here yet. I wonder if he got my text.” Kel responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh… Basil…” Hero’s face hardened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny hadn't even thought about what Hero would have thought of Basil. If Hero hated Sunny, he definitely would hate Basil. He sharply inhaled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyways,” Hero started, “What have you all been doing? I heard Sunny’s finishing high school in Faraway, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s right,” Sunny answered. “I’m happy to be finishing school with my friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Hero, you won’t believe what we’ve been doing!” Kel started.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kel…” Aubrey knew exactly what he was going to say.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s this thing called ‘Persona’ and they’re like these magic guys who shoot wind and fire and electricity at stuff! It’s really cool.” Kel told.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh-huh…” Hero obviously didn’t understand what his brother was talking about.</span>
</p>
<p> <span>“Yeah! We go into the TV and fight shadows and we save the day! It’s really cool! We’re like superheroes!”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny, Aubrey, and Kim all facepalmed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I see…” Hero said. “I didn’t know you all still played pretend, I thought you all grew out of that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope!” Aubrey said quickly, “We definitely still do that!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, it looks like you’re having a lot of fun, so I can’t fault you there.” Hero told. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone heard a buzz come from the kitchen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, the cookies are done!” Hero said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You made us cookies!” Aubrey beamed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, yeah! I want to feed my guests.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw hell yeah!” Aubrey said with glee. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you want them, you’re gonna have to not curse though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey pouted, “Fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny loved Hero’s cookies. Hero used the same recipe that Mari would use, and they tasted nearly identical. Hero walked into the kitchen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Kel,” Kim asked, “When are you gonna be as hot as your brother?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, I’m already hot!” Kel responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep. Sure you are…” Kim stuck her tongue out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hero called out from the kitchen, “Kel! Come help your brother out!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my gosh…” Kel groaned, “COMING!” Kel entered the kitchen, leaving Sunny, Aubrey, and Kim in the living room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kim turned to Sunny and Aubrey, “Did you see it last night!?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Both Sunny and Aubrey froze, “See what?...” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The midnight channel, doofus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh… No w- I didn’t.” Aubrey let out a small sigh of relief until she realized what that meant, “Wait! Who’d you see?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I couldn’t tell, it was just one of those silhouettes. I think it was a girl though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does that mean we’ll see who they are tonight?” Sunny asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably,” Kim brought a hand to her chin, “We should all make sure to watch it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hero and Kel walked in holding a plate of cookies. Kel already had one in his mouth.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whelp, dig in!” Hero said with a smile. Everyone made small talk about what they had been doing for the past year until it was time to leave.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>******************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny sat in front of the TV in his room. The clock slowly ticked by as Sunny waited for midnight. He checked his phone, 11:59 PM. Eventually, the TV turned itself on and static appeared. A person slowly appeared on the screen, someone not very familiar to Sunny. She had blue hair and looked like she was wearing some anime pop-star outfit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wait… I know this person. Isn’t this Cris? Kel’s friend?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The person on the television began to speak, “Yoo-hoo! It’s Cris here! Everyone’s favorite idol! Oh WOW! Look at everyone here, just to see me! I can’t wait to perform for all of you! I’m so happy that all my adoring fans are here! I can’t WAIT for everyone to see me in action! I love hearing all of you praise me!...” The TV went dark after this. Shortly after, Sunny’s phone rang.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“H-hello?” Sunny said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“THAT WAS CRIS!” Kel yelled through the phone. Sunny flinched.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-yeah… We’re gonna go find her tomorrow, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have to! Cris is my friend, we need-” Kel’s voice became muffled, “Yeah?... I’m talking to Sunny… Sorry…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What was that?” Sunny asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hero heard me yell. I have to go. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course. We’ll all meet up first thing in the morning like we always do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep! Goodnight Sunny.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Goodnight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny hung up the phone and went to bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>First Aubrey, then Basil, now Cris? Everybody I’ve met before… Maybe the person doing this knows who I am?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny spent the rest of the night thinking about who would want to hurt his friends. He couldn’t think of anyone who would have held a grudge against anyone besides himself. Sunny sighed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Well… If people keep getting thrown into the TV, then We’ll just keep saving them. The killer can’t keep doing this and getting away with it forever, right?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hoo boy. Time for the Rise dungeon. This dungeon will definitely be the one that differs the most from P4. It took me a while to choose what I wanted to do for it. I hope I'm able to do it justice.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Cris and Mikhael's Shadow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Welcome to the Velvet Room.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny slowly opened his eye. All he could see was a bright blue light surrounding him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?... Blue Space? Oh, this guy…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Igor gestured towards Sunny, “Your search for the truth appears to be stagnating. Why is that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I don’t know… Everyone who’s taken into that world is people I know. But why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Perhaps you are closer to an answer than you might think.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What does that even mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Igor chuckled, “Your bonds with the people who you hold close will be important for finding your truth. Soon, these bonds will reveal something important in your quest…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Reveal something? Please tell me, I need to know what’s going on!” Sunny said desperately. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In time, my dear boy. In time…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The area around Sunny began to fade. It looked like the only answers he was going to get from Igor would be too cryptic to understand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*****************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny woke up earlier than he would have preferred. He quickly got ready and headed to the park. Basil was the only person there at that time. He appeared to be holding what looked like a staff. It was about a foot taller than Basil himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi Basil, what’s that?” Sunny asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Sunny! Hello! This is, uh…” Basil gulped. “A weapon. Since I’m going with you, I’ll need to protect myself, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see… If you’re using a weapon, I kinda thought you would use your sheer-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“NO!” Basil quickly protested. “I-I mean… I… I just don’t feel comfortable using something sharp. I like this a lot better…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh… Sorry…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! I’m sorry, Sunny. I just…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny put his hand on Basil’s shoulder, “It’s fine. Everything’s fine now… I hope…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I heard you saw Hero yesterday,” Basil said without looking up, “H-how’d that go? Does he…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I don’t know if he forgave me… but he said he was happy to see me, so that’s good. He doesn’t seem mad at me like I thought he would. We were actually wondering where you were…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was scared to… I thought he would hate me… I’m sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This may just be wishful thinking… but I think we’ll be fine,” Sunny told.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can only pray…” Basil said quietly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shortly after, Kim, Kel, Aubrey, and Mikhael arrived at the park.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who’s ready to kick some ass!?” Kim exclaimed with a fist pump.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You seem awfully excited about this…” Sunny said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well we’ve done this before, I don’t think it’ll be any trouble for us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s kind of a pain in the ass though,” Aubrey said, “I’m always sore after we come back, and the idea of being killed is not all that flattering either.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then we just won’t get killed!” Kel smiled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Geez, why didn’t I think of that…'' Aubrey said sarcastically.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael crossed his arms, “Well if you’re done faffing about, I’ll locate the beautiful woman in the TV world.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Beautiful woman?” Kim scoffed, “Alright, Mikhael, whatever you say.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone left towards the Othermart Electronics section. On the way, they ran into a familiar laid-back man.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Sunny and Sunny’s friends.” Adachi greeted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, uh, hi…” Sunny said back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are a bunch of kids like you doing here? Looking for a TV? I wouldn’t think you’d have enough money for something like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re just looking,” Kim said angrily. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whoa, why release your venom on me?” Adachi asked, “I was just interested in what you were doing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry about that Mr. Police Guy,” Kel apologized, “You know resting bitch face? Kim has that but with her voice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kel you bastard!” Kim yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See what I mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh… okay then…” Adachi said. He started backing away from the group, “Whelp, I should probably get back to work. Nice catching up with you… I guess.” Adachi disappeared into the store.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ya scared him off,” Mikhael said with his hands on his hips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Isn’t that a good thing?” Kim asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We could’ve asked for his help though,” Kel said. “He’s a police officer, he’s probably a strong dude.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As if he’d believe us,” Kim sighed, “We’d just end up in a mental hospital or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop talking about stupid shit!” Mikhael yelled. “Let’s go already!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Someone’s impatient…” Aubrey commented. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*****************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone entered the TV and arrived in the other world. Mikhael began smelling the air like some sort of dog.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You do NOT look flattering when you do that…” Kim told.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I always look flattering,” Mikhael boasted, “ It is simply the way of The Maverick. Anywho, I have located a faint presence in the distance. Smells kinda like the ocean…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You think that’s Cris?” Kel asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s the only lead we have…” Sunny said. “We should go check it out.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The group arrived at what appeared to be the entrance to a theatre. There were many flashing lights all around the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, wasn’t this the place we saw Cris in front of last night? The one on the Midnight Channel.” Kel asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Looks like it,” Kim said while studying the area.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all entered through the door of the theater. Like the previous two dungeons, this one appeared to be mostly barren. The only thing of note was identical posters of Shadow Cris on the wall. It looked like they were advertising some show that Cris was the star of. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So this chick wants to be some kind of pop star?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She never told me,” Kel said, “All this singing stuff is news to me. I kinda thought she wanted to go pro with the swimming stuff…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone walked a little further into the theatre and they all heard something. It sounded like Cris’s voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aren’t I talented? Look at what I can do! Please… anyone… Why won’t someone look my way…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That was Cris!” Kel yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kel, you’re the only one of us who knows anything about this girl,” Aubrey said, “Do you have any idea what she’s talking about?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I really don’t,” Kel responded, “If these are her thoughts, then that means she wants people to pay attention, right? I don’t understand… She’s on the swim team, loads of people should be happy for her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe she just really likes attention…” Basil thought out loud. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eleven,” Mikhael interrupted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Basil said, thinking Mikhael was talking to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There are eleven floors in this place, meaning our target should be on the eleventh floor!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t say target,” Aubrey said, “Makes it sound like we wanna take her out or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh-ho-ho! I would definitely take her out!” Mikhael laughed, “If you know what I me- ARGH” Aubrey slapped Mikhael on the back of his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, we’re not gonna learn anything standing around here,” Sunny said, “We should probably press forward.” Everyone started walking through the dungeon. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*****************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are we there yet?” Basil complained, “My legs are killing me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We are on floor five!” Mikhael told, “Don’t see why you’re tired. I’m perfectly fine!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not even fighting!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No excuses, Basil! You’re just not in shape.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Basil’s right,” Aubrey said, “Using a persona takes a lot of energy, and you’re doing jack shit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am navigating!” Mikhael protested, “You’d be so lost without me!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, right!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guys, stop arguing and check this out!” Kel exclaimed, “Treasure chest!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Neat…” Sunny said. Kel ran towards the chest and started to open it. A sudden sense of dread hung over everyone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y’all feel that?” Kim asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah… kinda weird…” Kel said. “Oh well, CHEST TIME!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe don’t open that?” Sunny said, but it was too late. The box had been opened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh dang, nothing.” Kel sounded disappointed. A strange cloaked being floated above Kel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“KEL!” everyone screamed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?” Kel looked up. He jumped back at the sight of a demon holding two large guns. “WHAT IS THAT!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“YOU HAVE OPENED THE REAPER’S CHEST!” The thing growled, “NOW THE REAPER WILL CLAIM YOUR SOUL!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s get the fuck outta here!” Aubrey yelled. Everybody ran away, and the Reaper followed in pursuit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s getting closer!” Basil cried.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guys! I found the stairs! This way!” Mikael waved everybody towards him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone managed to narrowly escape the reaper and entered the sixth floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did he follow us!?” Kim said, out of breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I don’t think so,” Sunny took a deep breath, “I don’t wanna go downstairs to find out if that… thing… is still there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kel, can I ask you a favor?” Aubrey said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kel sighed, “I can probably guess what it is.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Never open a chest again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The gang took a moment to catch their breath. Everyone besides Kel was winded. While they were resting, Cris’s voice was once again heard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to be a singer… I want to be an athlete… I want to have adoring fans… I want… someone to be proud of me…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cris…” Kel said sadly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*****************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One large door stood in front of everyone. They had made it to the final floor of Cris’s theatre. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael kicked down the door, “We are here to save you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What an entrance…” Aubrey groaned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a large stage in front of everyone. On top of it was both Shadow Cris and the real Cris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cmon, don’t you WANNA be popular? Don’t you wanna be known? Why don’t you just sing to the world?” The shadow taunted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wha… I dunno… I don’t think I’m that good at that kind of stuff.” Cris responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cris!” Kel called out. Everyone ran towards the stage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooh!!!” Cris’s shadow clapped, “People are here to see me! Maybe they’ll fuel our selfish desire to be praised.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not like that. I’m… I don’t care what people think of me…” Cris looked sad.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Lady! Be careful,” Aubrey yelled, “That shadow is dangerous!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shadow?” Cris was confused, “What a strange dream this is…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cris’s shadow mocked her, “Oh yeah, because only in your dreams would people wanna see you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“T-that’s not true…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t say it!” Sunny, Kel, Aubrey, and Kim all warned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know no one will ever care about you, look up to you, adore you.” Cris’s shadow taunted again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“People care about me… right?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope! They don’t. I know this because I’m you! The only difference is… I’m living your dream, and you’re stuck sulking like a baby.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! That’s not… I’m not…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“STOP!” Everyone tried to interrupt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not you!” Cris screamed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cris’s shadow laughed as it became engulfed in flames. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here we go again,” Kim said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can’t ever be easy…” Kel added. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cris’s shadow transformed into a large multicolored woman who appeared to be holding a microphone in her hands. Her face looked similar to a satellite. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am a shadow, the true self!” the shadow told, “I can’t believe you all came to my show! To show my gratitude, I’ll make this show the best one of your lives!... and also the LAST!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll take you down!” Kel affirmed, “Because I’m Cris’s friend, and friends help each other!” Everyone took a battle stance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Watch out, this one looks tough!” Mikhael advised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ya think?!” Kim said angrily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think it has some trick up its sleeve. It also doesn’t look weak to anything. I’d be careful if I were you!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Noted.” Sunny responded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cris’s shadow waved its arms in the air and fire rained down on Sunny and his friends. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s hot! Nope! Don’t like that!” Kim yelled while frantically trying to avoid being burnt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So this one uses fire?” Sunny thought, “Alright. Come, King Frost!” A regal-looking creature with a big smile on its face appeared above Sunny. It shot out an ice spear at Cris’s shadow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just told you, this one’s not weak to anything!” Mikhael complained, “You never listen!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“King Frost can’t be hurt by fire, it told me.” Sunny explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It told you?” Basil asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, it said… ‘He-ho, I’m immune to fire skills’ or something like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cris’s shadow screamed, “No! Don’t talk to each other, pay attention to me!” She sang a strange tune into her microphone and lightning rained down. Basil was the only one not affected. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, I didn’t get hit!” Basil sighed in relief. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This one has more than one element to it?” Kim groaned, “That’s a strong shadow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yup! I’m all-powerful! Don’t you love me?” Cris’s shadow laughed, “I bet you do! Praise me more!” A green light enveloped the shadow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No way! It healed!” Mikhael said in disbelief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s cheating!” Aubrey raged. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s wrong little girl, gonna cry?” Cris’s shadow taunted. “You’re just jealous that you’ll never be like me!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, asshole! You asked for it!” Aubrey swung her bat at the shadow’s ribs. It fell to the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Argh! You bitch!” The shadow said in pain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s wrong, gonna cry?” Aubrey laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aubrey, watch out! I’m gonna attack.” Basil warned. Aubrey jumped back while Basil summoned his persona. “Come, Take-Mikazuchi!” Basil’s persona threw a lightning bolt at the downed shadow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, everyone! Rush it!” Sunny yelled. Everyone charged towards Cris’s shadow and attacked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did we beat her?” Basil asked hopefully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cris’s shadow struggled to stand back up. “No… I won’t accept this… My fans demand an encore!” the shadow threw its arms in the air and sang something. It was more similar to a screech. Sunny and his friends covered their ears. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell was that!?” Aubrey tried to yell over Shadow Cris’s voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The shadow stood up straight. It looked like all the damage done to it had disappeared. Shadow Cris laughed, “You know what? I’m just not gonna let you hurt me anymore. I don’t care about you, I only care about my adoring fans!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s never gonna go down!” Kel complained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll handle this!” Kim said. She tried to kick Shadow Cris off its feet, but the attack phased through as if it was a ghost. Kim fell down, “What the hell? I missed?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t hurt me! I can see your every move!” the shadow laughed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are we gonna do?” Basil asked with fear in his voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I don’t know!” Sunny tried to analyze the situation but failed to come up with any plan. “It looks like we can’t even touch her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See if you can survive THIS!” Shadow Cris chuckled. It emitted a shockwave that knocked Sunny and his friends to the ground. “What? That didn’t kill you? Oh well, this next one will!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this… the end?” Kim asked fearfully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! We can’t die here!” Kel yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are we gonna do?” Aubrey cried.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael walked forward in between the shadow and Sunny’s team. He was the only one who hadn’t been attacked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing!?” Kim asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m… I’m done standing around doing nothing,” Mikhael said. “You know what? I’ll admit it, I’m scared. I’m actually terrified of fighting. That’s not gonna make me back down, though. I’ll protect my friends… They’re all I have!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mikhael?” Aubrey said with sadness in her voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I feel like… maybe we treated him a bit harshly,” Kim brought her hand to her mouth, “And not just because we’re about to die.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A golden aura emanated from Mikhael’s body. Cris’s shadow took a step back, “The power I’m detecting from this one… It’s off the charts!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is it!” Mikhael yelled as he charged towards Cris’s shadow. A blinding light came from the stage, and Shadow Cris had returned to its original form. The real Cris was lying next to her shadow. Sunny and his friends ran up onto the stage.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mikhael! You saved us!” Aubrey exclaimed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah! That was awesome!” Kim agreed, “I’m… I’m sorry for calling you useless and stuff…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s cool,” Mikhael said, “I just… something came over me. I couldn’t watch you get hurt anymore…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cris slowly got to her feet, “W-what happened?… Where am I?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay now,” Kim said, “We… actually this guy here weakened your shadow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My shadow?” Cris asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. It’s like the part of you that holds your deepest secrets and fears,” Kel explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn Kel, just go and drop that on her,” Kim said sarcastically.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So… That thing… is me?” Cris asked sadly. She looked towards her Shadow, “I… I do want people to notice me. I want people to be proud of me. And you know what? I think that’s okay. I want to be someone people look up to, and I’ll never stop striving to be someone like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cris’s shadow nodded and disappeared. In its place was a card with a heart on it, with the number VI (6) at the bottom. The lover card. The card transformed into a woman in a long white gown. Where her face would be was what looked like part of a satellite. Cris had awakened her persona, Himiko. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow, another persona user!” Kel exclaimed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Persona?” Cris asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re… uh… how do I explain it,” Sunny said, “They’re kinda like demons or something that we use to help us fight shadows.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That sounds… kinda like some weird anime…” Cris responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A little…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can explain more once we get out of here,” Kim said, “Whelp! Lead the way, Mikhael!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone turned towards the exit and found Mikhael… and Mikhael?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No…” Kel gasped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that… Mikhael’s shadow?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You…” Mikhael said. He looked back at everyone, “Don’t worry guys, I got this!” Mikhael took a step towards his shadow, “Yo, shadow me! I’m you, or something like that. Alright, persona time! Give it to me!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You claim to be me… but do you even know who you are?” Mikhael’s shadow responded. Its voice sounded nothing like Mikhael’s. It was much deeper and more demonic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“W-what? You’re crazy! How does someone not know themself?” Mikhael’s usual confidence had shattered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who are you… Who am I… Who are we? Are we The Maverick? Are we Mikhael? Are we someone who follows the wishes of our family? Our friends? Do we make our own path? Who are we?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, the answer to that is quite obvious! I am… uh…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The only thing we know is we are worthless. Worthless to our family. Worthless to our friends. Our existence means nothing in this world. Now tell me, who are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“T-that’s not true…” Mikhael fell to his knees. “I’ll tell you who I am…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mikhael, be careful!” Aubrey advised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m… I’m… I’m…” Mikhael repeated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“WHO ARE WE?” His shadow yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m… nothing…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The ground began to shake. Mikhael’s shadow’s movement became sporadic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We… are… nothing? We…” The shadow’s voice became distorted, “Nothing? Nothing?! Nothing! NoNoNoNoNoNo-” The ground below it cracked open and both Mikhael and his shadow fell in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mikhael!” Everyone called out. A colossal being emerged from the crevasse in the ground. While it was shaped like how a person would normally be, Its legs were replaced by Mikhael’s parents, while its arms were the bodies of Mikhael’s siblings, Daphne and Bowen. Where the head would be, Mikhael’s own body was there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am a shadow… the true self! Although I am nothing, you all are too! Throw away your lives and face the only truth in this world. The truth of how meaningless life is! You will all die here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guys!” Cris called out. Her persona was right behind her, “I’m sensing an extreme power emanating from that… thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cris, get back!” Kel yelled, “You’re still weak from the fight before!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No… All of you saved me… and now it’s my turn to help you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael’s shadow raised its arms in the air, and the people acting as its arms raised their arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Watch out! It’s preparing something!” Cris advised. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What should we do?” Basil asked desperately.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If it’s charging something,” Sunny started, “We need to brace ourselves!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everybody defended themselves from the impending attack. Mikhael’s shadow slammed its fist(?) into the ground, causing a shockwave. Everybody struggled to stay on their feet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That attack could easily take you out!” Cris informed. “Whatever you do, don’t get hit head-on by that attack!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t get hit. Who woulda thought,” Kim said sarcastically. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cris, how do you know all this stuff?” Kel asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think it’s the persona!” Cris wondered, “It’s like it can scan the enemy. Whatever it is, I feel an immense power coming from that shadow!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If this thing really is that strong, we should be conservative with our energy,” Sunny said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you can scan it, then is it weak to anything?” Aubrey asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s weak to nothing!” Cris said fearfully, “However, it’s defenseless when charging up its attack. It’s risky, but it just might work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael’s shadow raised what acted as its arms in the air once again, “Impudent humans. Face your end with honor.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hit it with everything you got!” Sunny yelled. He put his hands on his head, “Come, Oni!” A large red demon appeared behind Sunny and slashed wildly at Mikhael’s shadow. Everyone else joined in, using their most powerful attacks. The shadow screamed and took a knee.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did we do it?!” Kim asked hopefully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I sense… it’s still alive,” Cris said, “However… It looks like it’s almost dead! Defeat it quickly!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny walked up towards the downed shadow, “This… ends… now!” Sunny plunged his knife through the shadow’s head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s… over…” Cris sighed in relief. The shadow dissipated and returned to looking like Mikhael. The real Mikhael was also nearby.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yo Mikhael, you alright?” Kim asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah… I’m fine…” Mikhael stood up and looked at his shadow. “I… I know who I am…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mikhael, don-” Aubrey started.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s fine… I know who I am now… for real…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael’s shadow didn’t respond. It just stared back at the real Mikhael.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am… Mikhael. I don’t want to follow in my parent’s footsteps. I want to be my own person. I want to make my own path in life. This is who I am!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael’s shadow nodded and disappeared. In its place was a card with a star on it, and the number XVII (17) on the bottom. The star arcana. The card transformed into a red ball-like creature that held a rocket above its head. Mikhael had awakened his persona, Kintoki-Douji. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whoa! Two persona awakenings in one day!” Kel exclaimed, “Talk about crazy!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I remember…” Mikhael said in a monotone voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Remember what?” Sunny asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I remember… how I found out about the TV world. I don’t know what this place is, but I remember how I learned about many of the things here…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can we talk about it… not here?” Kim asked. “I don’t know about you, but I hate it in this world.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes… let’s get out of here…” Mikhael guided everyone to the exit of the theatre. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*****************</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everybody sat around a table at Faraway Park and Mikhael began explaining everything he knew about the TV world,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It all started maybe a year or two ago. I was walking to church and I turned on the wrong street. I found myself standing In front of the house neighboring Kel’s.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My house?” Cris asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The one that was for sale,” Mikhael answered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s…” Sunny didn’t finish his thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I saw a man next to the for sale sign in front of that house,” Mikhael told, “Blond dude. Very well dressed. He had a red eye and a blue eye though. Kinda weird.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-yeah… it is weird…” Sunny said while adjusting his eyepatch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think it’s weird…” Aubrey added quietly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mikhael continued, “He turned to me and started making conversation. He said his name was Louis Cyphre and he was looking to buy that house for his family. Everything sounded relatively normal until he told me some weird things. He said he could sense a ‘strange power’ emanating from my soul and that he could unlock it for me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Normally that’d sound like some creepy old guy to me...” Cris started, “...but with everything that’s happened, maybe he was right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course, I was like ‘Whatever dude’ but then he said something that intrigued me. He told me that I could enter ‘the world of the true self’ I could find the hidden power inside myself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“World of the true self?” Basil questioned, “That must be the TV world. Our shadows always say they’re the ‘true self’ after all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey… do you guys think that… maybe this guy Mikhael is talking about could be the killer we’re looking for?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s possible, but what’s his motive?” Sunny wondered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I actually am led to believe the contrary,” Mikhael said, “One of the last things he told me was that there was a very dangerous person in Faraway, and only people with ‘the potential to face themself’ can bring salvation.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bring salvation?” Kim scoffed, “Sounds like some cult shit to me… although if we told anyone about this persona stuff, they’d think we’re in a cult.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Mikhael, why are you only remembering this now?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The LAST thing that man told me was that he had to repress the memory of our conversation. He said I would only be able to remember once I faced my truth.” Mikhael explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then how did you know to enter the TV?” Basil asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I dunno. I just felt compelled to touch my screen one day and here we are!” Mikhael jumped to his feet and posed, “Anyways, that is my story, as told by the great and wonderful THE MAVERICK!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I kinda thought we’d be over this…” Kim sighed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh no!” Mikhael laughed. “While I am Mikhael, I am also THE MAVERICK! We are both the same.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn. Really hoping this maverick crap was over.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s THE Maverick to you!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, don’t you guys think it would be a good idea to actually TALK to this Louis guy?” Aubrey asked. “According to Mikhael, he seems to know quite a bit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That does sound like a good idea!” Kel agreed, “Let’s go see him now-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There you guys are!” Everyone heard a voice and turned to see who it was. They saw Hero standing there, looking somewhat concerned, “I’ve been looking all over for you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, we were here the whole time.” Kim lied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now I know that’s not true, I looked here,” Hero turned to Kel, “Mom is really mad. You know you’re not supposed to sneak out like that, especially when you have a bunch of chores to do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh… oops.” Kel laughed. Hero sighed and shook his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh… I caused trouble,” Cris said sadly, “You all came to help me and I only caused problems.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s fine,” Kel told, “I’ll probably just have to wash dishes or something like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hero sighed, “Well at least you weren’t getting into any mischief. By the way, how many of you are there?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?” Kel tilted his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s Summer, so I wanted to plan a beach trip for all of us in a few weeks, like the one we went on five years ago,” Hero explained, “Figured you would like it if all your friends came along, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw yeah! That sounds awesome!” Kel raised a fist in the air. </span>
</p>
<p><span>“Anyways, I need to see how many of us there are for when I book a room.” Hero started counting heads, “Alright, so we got me, Kel, Sunny, Kim, Aubrey,... Cris right?”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“Yup! That’s me!” Cris said cheerfully</span></p>
<p>
  <span>Hero continued, “Okay, just making sure, Cris, Mikhael, and… Basil? Is that you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh! Uh… Hi, Hero… W-we haven't talked in a w-while…” Basil looked extremely nervous. A feeling Sunny knew all too well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah… It has been a while.” Hero said, “Well, I hope you all can come on this trip.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we’ll all be able to go,” Kim told.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you speak for everyone?” Hero asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do now!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay…” Hero sighed. “Just make sure you get permission if that’s something you need.” Hero grabbed Kel by the wrist, “You need to come with me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No!” Kel protested, “I don’t wanna go home!” Kel extended his free arm out to everyone else, “Save me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll remember you fondly,” Kim laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I won’t,” Aubrey shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bye Kel,” Basil waved. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And he was never heard of again…” Sunny joked quietly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow! Sunny knows humor? Didn’t think he had it in him!” Aubrey teased while elbowing Sunny in the ribs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“P-please don’t do that!” Sunny jumped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“While teasing Sunny is always funny, shouldn’t we see this magic man Mikhael was talking about?” Kim asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think that would be wise right now,” Cris said, “This man seems to know quite a bit, and we should be at full strength… just in case.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s true,” Basil agreed, “I think we should all get some much-needed rest right now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I second that,” Sunny said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So we're breaking up for the day?” Kim asked, “Alright. Whelp, good work everyone. See you all later.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everybody left the park and made their way home. On Sunny’s way home, he ran into Hero.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh… hey Hero…” Sunny greeted nervously, “I… uh… what are you doing here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I actually came here to talk to you,” Hero said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh… I… uh… Okay… what do you wanna talk about?” Sunny asked, knowing exactly what Hero wanted to talk about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hero sighed deeply, “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking the past year, and the fact that I’m back here means that it’s been exactly a year since you told us… about what happened...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry…” Sunny apologized quietly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Honestly, at first I was mad, like really mad. I needed a moment to think and… I’m sorry, Sunny.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I loved Mari… but I know you did two. What I’m trying to say is… I wanna make things right with you.” Hero extended a hand out to Sunny. Sunny instinctively grabbed it. “Do you remember what I said a year ago?” Hero asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You said… that we all shouldn’t leave each other…” Sunny recalled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s right,” Hero pulled Sunny into a hug, “I don’t want to break that promise. I want to do the right thing…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about Basil?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hero sighed again, “I’m… I don’t know about him yet. I get you were kids but… why did he do that?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to forgive you… I want to forgive Basil… Even if I can’t, I still want us to be friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sunny sniffled, “I’d like that… for us all to be friends, just like old times.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah… me too…”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Definitely the dungeon that most differs from base game P4. Here is a list of all the things I changed if you're into that kind of thing.<br/>Rise Dungeon: I really wouldn't feel comfortable making the dungeon a strip club, so I decided to make it a theatre instead. I decided to make Cris want to be an idol. It's a good thing she has like two lines of dialogue in-game so I can mold her into whatever I want.<br/>Shadow Rise: Again, I don't feel comfortable making Cris into what Shadow Rise was originally, so Instead I wanted to go for what Rise looks like in P4AU, but with the rainbow-colored skin and the satellite face.<br/>Shadow Teddie: Since Mikhael is not a bear, Shadow Teddie wouldn't fit. Instead, I designed Mikhael's shadow as Great Father from Persona 2 (https://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Nyarlathotep) (Persona 2 spoilers) with the shadow being a fusion of Mikhael's family.<br/>I really hope I was able to do this dungeon justice, It was definitely the hardest to write so far.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I definitely made the shadow fights shorter because there two of them, not because I got lazy.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Government Mandated Beach Episode</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sunny, Ryotaro, and Nanako all sat around the table. Nanako told her family all about her day. Sunny politely listened to Nanako’s ramblings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...and then, she came back home and her parents were so happy! That’s when the show said that you should always trust your parents because they know best!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds like a message I can get behind,” Ryotaro laughed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And then, her mom gave her a big hug!” Nanako’s smile quickly disappeared, “Do you think mom would want to see me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny had not seen Nanako’s mother before. He had suspicions about where she was but never had any confirmation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“O-of course she would!” Ryotaro stressed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but… where is your mother?” Sunny asked. He immediately regretted his decision when he saw Ryotaro’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My dad says she’s in heaven,” Nanako answered sadly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… I’m sorry…” Sunny said quietly. “I… it’s hard, but they’re always going to be with you, you know that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Nanako tilted her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When people… go to heaven… they still live on in your heart. They follow you wherever you go… My sister is always with me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your sister is in heaven?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-yeah…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think mom and her play together?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny nodded, “Yeah… I do…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, Nanako, I think it’s time for bed,” Ryotaro told. Nanako complained but eventually left to get ready for bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Sunny apologized.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be,” Ryotaro said, “I feel like that was a real bonding moment between you too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I still shouldn’t have brought it up…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryotaro sighed and shook his head, “Our family has been through a lot, but we always get right back up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryotaro turned his head away from Sunny, “It was a hit and run… Nanako’s mom was on the way to pick her up from preschool and was struck… I’ve never been able to find who did it...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry... I didn’t know…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was about two years after Mari passed away,” Ryotaro explained, “Your mother said she didn’t want to bring you to another funeral.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… I see…” The two were silent for a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryotaro finally stood up, “Whelp, I think you should go to bed too. You said you had to wake up early to leave for the beach tomorrow?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“5:00 AM,” Sunny groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, waking up in the AM? That is early for you. Best get some sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… goodnight…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny went upstairs to his room and did not go to bed. Instead, he was texted by his friends about their plans for tomorrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>JULY 18th, 20XX. 9:37 PM</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel&gt; Everybody ready for tomorrow?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Basil&gt; Yup! I got everything packed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim&gt; Shouldn’t we add Mikhael and Cris to this chat too?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel&gt; That’s a good idea. I can add Cris, but someone else will have to add Mikhael since I don’t have his number</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel&gt; Added Cris to the group.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey&gt; Added Mikhael to the group.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cris&gt; omg who dis</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mikhael&gt; AHAHAHA I AM HERE NOW! PREPARE TO BE SPAMMED WITH IMAGES OF YOURS TRULY!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey&gt; I regret this. Can we un-add them?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cris&gt; NOOOOO dont un add me D:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim&gt; What about Hero?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel&gt; He’s already in here. He just never talks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Henry&gt; I muted this a long time ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim&gt; Who the hell is Henry?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Henry&gt; I’m Hero</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim&gt; WAIT IS THAT YOUR REAL NAME</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mikhael&gt; sent an image.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim&gt; Don’t</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey&gt; Don’t</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny&gt; Don’t</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mikhael&gt; YOU CAN’T HANDLE MY FORM</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Henry&gt; This is why the chat is muted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kel&gt; Anyways, we’re all meeting up at my house at 5 AM tomorrow</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim&gt; Way too early.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cris&gt; May b we shud go 2 slep den?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Basil&gt; Cris your grammar is giving me a conniption.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cris&gt; dats not a word ;) ;) ;)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Henry&gt; She’s right, we should all go to bed. Probably right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny&gt; Agreed</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny’s phone quieted down, and he went to bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>******************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny arrived at Kel’s house early in the morning. He found Hero, Kel, Cris, and Mikhael packing up a minivan in the driveway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning, Sunny!” Hero greeted cheerfully. Sunny only grunted in return.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someone’s tired,” Cris chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you not?” Sunny dully asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m never tired!” Mikhael said proudly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yo! It’s Kim, Aubrey, and Basil!” Kel exclaimed while pointing down the street. Basil was basically dragging Kim and Aubrey along with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you believe these two?” Basil groaned, “I had to wake up BOTH of them!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was already awake.” Aubrey sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you weren’t.” Basil protested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, sure, that’s why I OPENED THE DOOR when you knocked.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did that knock wake you?” Basil asked. Aubrey didn’t respond.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You woke me…” Kim said angrily, “... and I was having a pleasant dream too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Basil turned to everyone else, “So that’s why we’re here a little late.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it’s fine.” Kel smiled, “As long as we’re all here, that’s all that matters.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t help that I’m still tired,” Kim groaned, “Honestly, the only time you should ever see the sunrise if it’s right before you go to bed.” Kim turned to Sunny, “I would like to think of a pun here, but I’m honestly way too tired…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everybody put their luggage in the trunk of Hero’s car, leaving not much space for people to sit back there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we sure everyone can fit in there?” Cris asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure we can. Check this out.” Hero pulled down a seat in the front of the car, in between the driver seat and the passenger seat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yo, three people can sit in the front?!” Kel said in bewilderment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup. Two of you will still have to squeeze into the back with all our suitcases and stuff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I propose Sunny and Basil, as they are the smallest!” Cris said with her hands on her hips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… I’d rather not be crowded by a lot of stuff… especially for as long as we’re gonna be on the road for a long time...” Basil apologized, “If it’s okay with all of you, I would like to sit in the middle section…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can sit in the back, I don’t mind,” Aubrey told. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everybody entered Hero’s car and they took off for the beach. Hero, Kel, and Kim sat in the front seats. Sunny couldn’t tell from where he was sitting if Kim was asleep or not, but he could hear Kel and Hero talking about sports. Basil, Cris, and Mikhael all sat in the middle section. Sunny could see Mikhael playing some game on his phone while he heard Cris and Basil nerding out about marine life and plant life. Sunny and Aubrey sat in the back seat, with a pile of luggage on the rightmost seat and behind them. Sunny forced himself to stare out the window so Aubrey wouldn’t notice his blush from sitting so close together. He put in his headphones and let his mind drift. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I am a shadow, the true self…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>A world between mind and matter…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>It requires great courage to look at oneself honestly and forge one’s own path...</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Sunny…” Aubrey tapped him on the shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny jumped in his seat. He removed a headphone so he could hear Aubrey.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your music is like… really loud,” Aubrey told.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I listen?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… sure… I don’t know if you’ll like it though…” Sunny reluctantly handed Aubrey a headphone and she stuck it in her ear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, now I can’t hear anyth-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <b>♫I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING!♫</b>
  <span>” Aubrey flinched at the volume of the music.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“OH GOD, THAT’S LOUD! How are your ears still functioning!?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry…” Sunny apologized, “I’ll turn it down…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You better, I don’t need you going deaf.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny tried turning down the volume on his mp3 player and accidentally skipped to the next song.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“♫I will burn my dread!♫”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I like this song,” Aubrey said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… It’s probably my favorite.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s definitely a good one. Although, I never understood what ‘burn my dread’ means.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it means that you should cast away your fears and face your troubles head-on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow… Is that what it really means or did you make that up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just made it up… I don’t actually know what it means.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I see.” Aubrey yawned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I agree with that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I too, am very tired…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah,” Aubrey started to yell, specifically so Hero could hear her, “Sure wish we didn’t have to leave at fucking five in the morning!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Hero scolded, “Language!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hero sighed, “We had to leave early so we could beat the rush. Also, since we’re only gonna be there for the weekend, we should spend as much time there instead of on the road.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A short while later, Sunny noticed Aubrey had fallen asleep. He recalled a very special moment that he held dear. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I wonder if I could do that again.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny slowly laid his head on Aubrey’s shoulder. To his surprise, once he got comfortable Aubrey laid her head on top of his. Sunny froze in place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Now I’ve really done it. I’m trapped. I just need to stay perfectly still until she wakes up. But then she’ll see me… I’ll just play dumb. Good thing we’re in the back seat, nobody will see us.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometime later, Sunny had almost entered a sleeping state. It wasn’t until he heard Kim yell that he was brought back into reality, although he still acted as if he was sleeping.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yo! Check that out!” Kim yelled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shhhh!” Kel shushed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Are they talking about me? Hopefully not…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yo Basil, you see that?” Kel said</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I gotta get a picture,” Basil responded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please don’t be talking about me. Please be talking about something outside.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny heard the sound of a click and a flash of light appeared in front of his face. Both he and Aubrey opened their eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh? What’s happening?” Aubrey hadn’t fully registered what was going on. “Wait a minute, did you…” Aubrey tried to grab the camera from Basil but was too slow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll let you see it in a moment,” Basil said. He handed the photo to Kel and Kim.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You bastard!” Aubrey tried to grab onto Basil, but she couldn’t reach far enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Save me, Cris!” Basil cried out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll be fine.” Cris chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Could you two possibly tone it down?” Hero asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Check this out!” Kel said while showing the picture on the camera. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s so cute it makes me want to vomit,” Kim commented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The camera showed exactly what had happened, Sunny asleep on Aubrey’s shoulder, with her head leaning on his. They were both smiling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give that to me!” Aubrey demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll make copies,” Basil smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give that to me, NOW!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do you want it?” Kim asked, “Does it hold a special place in your heart? Do you wanna remember this forever?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C'mon guys, they were just sleeping,” Hero said. Sunny saw Hero wink in the mirror. His embarrassment only got higher as his face matched the color of Aubrey’s hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>******************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yo check out this hotel!” Kel exclaimed, “You think they got a pool?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why on earth would you care if they have a pool? We’re next to the ocean, idiot.” Aubrey said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How about you stop fighting and help bring in your suitcases?” Hero asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone brought their luggage inside and Hero secured the room everyone would be staying in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So we got three beds and a couch in here,” Hero noted, “That means half of us will have to sleep on the floor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I call the bed!” Kel said quickly while running towards the closest bed and plopping down on it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you think you should let the girls get the beds?” Hero scratched the back of his neck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hero sighed, “I just feel like they’d need the beds more than us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think Sunny should at least get the couch,” Basil said, “I know he has a hard time sleeping if the bed isn’t comfortable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I agree with Basil,” Aubrey added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s always about Sunny with you,” Kim smirked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up! I was just agreeing with Basil!” Aubrey pouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To be fair, Sunny is our master,” Mikhael said while moving the fake hair from his eyes, “It’s only natural that we should want him to be in top shape!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t call me master…” Sunny said quietly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you’re our great and powerful leader! Godslayer Sunny!’</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have not slain even one god.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That thing inside of me was probably a god. Only fitting for someone of my stature!” Mikhael boasted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… do I even want to know what you’re talking about?” Hero asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope!” Everyone else said simultaneously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t we figure this all out later?” Cris complained, “I wanna go to the beach!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we should go,” Kim agreed, “I mean, we left early so we COULD spend more time on the beach. Wouldn’t it be smart if we used it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! Let’s do that!” Kel said cheerfully. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everybody got changed into their swimsuits except for Hero, who said he didn’t care to go swimming. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mikhael, what the fuck are you wearing?” Aubrey angrily asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Language,” Hero scolded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong with this?” Mikhael asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim sighed, “My one goal in life was to never see Mikhael in a speedo, and now I’ve failed that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re all just jealous of my excellent physique,” Mikhael flexed. No one was impressed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Sunny, aren’t you gonna take off your eyepatch?” Kel asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… I dunno…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Couldn’t the water ruin it?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe… but… what if people laugh at me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then we kick their ass!” Kim said with her hands on her hips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Again, language,” Hero sighed, “Why do I even try.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nobody’s gonna laugh at you,” Aubrey said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you have to wear it?” Cris asked, “Like, does it hurt or anything?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not necessarily… I just like wearing it… You’re right though, I should take it off,” Sunny slowly took his eyepatch off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoa! That’s epic!” Kel complimented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fresh scar,” Kim gave a thumb up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does it hurt?” Basil asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really, although I can’t see out of it very well…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The hotel was right on the beach, so it didn’t take long for everyone to walk there and find a spot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright! Let’s do this!” Kel said gleefully while throwing his sandals off. He ran towards the ocean. “Last one there has egg on their face!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not even how the saying goes!” Kim groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re gonna have egg on your face, Kim.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! Not again!” Kim ran after Kel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You all have fun, I’m gonna build the coolest sandcastle.” Basil smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Think again,” Cris laughed, “You’re the only one with a camera, you’re gonna help me take pictures of the ocean.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“B-but… my sandcastle…” Basil whimpered as Cris dragged him away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey looked to Sunny, “Wanna go swimming?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright. Let’s not go too far out though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, I can try and teach you how to actually swim.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-you can?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure! C’mon,” Aubrey and Sunny walked out into the ocean. They went out further than was in Sunny’s comfort zone, but he didn’t have it in him to protest. The water almost reached Sunny's neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-you sure this is fine?” Sunny fearfully asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, the water is not too deep here. I think this is the perfect depth for you to learn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Not too deep? The water is way deep here! It’s all the way up to Aubrey’s… oh…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You ready?” Aubrey asked while extending her hands to Sunny. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny slowly put his hands on Aubrey’s, “I guess so…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, now you’re gonna want to kick your legs back and try to float on your stomach.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like this?” Sunny started kicking his legs frantically, splashing everywhere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Try to keep your feet under the water,” Aubrey said while trying to wipe the water away from her face on her shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s all fine. You’re learning, and that’s all that matters, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… I guess…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh come on, give yourself some credit. You’re doing really good!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>*****************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone returned to the shore after a while of swimming. Basil had recently finished his sandcastle and was admiring his handiwork.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sweet sand castle my guy,” Kim complimented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remember when we buried Sunny in the sand?” Kel asked, “Imagine burying him under that!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But then you’d have to ruin the castle to get me out,” Sunny said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I remember standing by Sunny after we buried him. Good times.” Basil smiled. He gasped, “We haven’t eaten any watermelon yet!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah!” Kel’s face lit up, “I remember us all eating watermelon together!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I remember you spitting seeds all over me,” Aubrey said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You spit seeds on me too!” Kel retaliated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You did it first!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I’ll do it again.” Kel made a devilish smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw hell no!” Aubrey stepped back, “Especially not now, since I don’t have my one-piece to save my stomach from your germs!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is something I don’t quite understand,” Mikhael said seemingly out of nowhere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s that?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mikhael looked very confused for some reason, “Like, why aren’t you wearing a one-piece swimsuit?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey raised an eyebrow, “Because that was five years ago and I’m too big for it now, why does it matter?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just that people who wear what you’re wearing usually have a lot more going on in ‘that area’ and you obviously don’t, so I was just won-” Aubrey kicked Mikhael in between the legs,</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “You fucking dick!” She yelled right before storming off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mikhael fell to the ground, “I am now infertile, how sad.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No wonder Mikhael has to pay girls to hang out with him,” Basil quietly commented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim put her arms around Kel and Sunny’s shoulders and whispered to them, “Hey guys, here’s a life lesson from your ol’ pal Kim. Maybe don’t talk about Aubrey’s… you know. She gets… really upset when people talk about her appearance like that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should we go after her?” Kel asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should just let her cool off.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An hour passed and Aubrey still had not returned. Sunny worried about her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna go look for her,” Sunny said while picking up his and Aubrey’s bags.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, but hurry back, the sun is setting,” Hero told, “We’ll all be back at the hotel room.” Hero threw Sunny the spare hotel key.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny walked along the beach searching for Aubrey. He eventually found her sitting on the shoreline alone. Sunny sat beside her and placed their bags away from the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Aubrey…” Sunny said. Aubrey didn’t respond. “I was… uh… I was worried about you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmph,” Aubrey looked away from Sunny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny tried to make light of the situation, “You know, I tend to ignore what Mikhael says. It seems like he never has anything important to say… except in the TV world I guess…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey sighed, “It’s just… I want to look my best. I want to be pretty... like Mari. You’re a guy, you wouldn’t understand.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like Mari…” Sunny sighed, “M-maybe I wouldn’t get it… but for what it’s worth… I think you’re beautiful…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re just saying that…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m not. I like the pout you do when you’re flustered, I like how you are both super strong and super sweet, I like how-” Sunny eyes widened as he realized what he was saying and he buried his face in his knees. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey’s face lit up, “Sunny! You- I- I didn’t know-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just don’t like seeing you sad…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey leaned into Sunny and laid her head on his shoulder, “Thank you… Sunny… Sometimes it feels like you’re the only person by my side.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“B-but what about Kim or Kel or Basil?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know… I just feel different around you…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“O-oh… I, uh…” Sunny failed to say anything. The two sat in silence and watched the sunset for a while.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey raised her head from Sunny’s shoulder, “Oh! I have something for you! I was gonna give it to you tomorrow for… you know, but I feel like now is a better time.” Aubrey reached into her bag.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny tilted his head, “Tomorrow? What’s tomorrow?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re funny.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Am I supposed to know what tomorrow is?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, you really don’t know?” Aubrey looked very concerned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny shook his head, “I really don’t know, sorry…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you remember my birthday but you can’t remember your own!?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My birthday?” Sunny thought about it for a moment, “I guess it is July… July 20th… That’s tomorrow… Tomorrow is my birthday! How did I forget?” Sunny knew why he forgot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t deserve a birthday. I shouldn’t be celebrated.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the whole reason we even came here!” Aubrey told, “Hero specifically planned this so we could throw a surprise party for you tomorrow! Um, you didn’t hear that last part.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… I didn’t know… You didn’t have to do this for me…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We hadn’t had a birthday with you in a long time, so we thought we should do something really special for you.” Aubrey pulled a small box with a bow on it from her bag. “Anyways, here’s what I got you. I hope you like it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny opened the box and found a watch inside, “Aubrey…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not much, but I think it’d look good on you…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is really nice! Where did you even get this!?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I, you know, did some jobs around town and…” Aubrey cleared her throat, “...begged Kim for money…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… well, I think it’s really nice. I love it, thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad!” Aubrey smiled. “Guess we should probably head back to the hotel room, huh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not gonna kill Mikhael, are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You might get us in trouble with the hotel staff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, but once we get home I’m doing it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***************** </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny and Aubrey returned to the hotel. Sunny searched around for the key to their room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t Hero have it? Shouldn’t we just knock?” Aubrey asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hero got two keys. He handed me one before I went to go find you.” Sunny finally found the key and opened the door. They found Kel and Kim sitting on one of the beds, lips locked. Sunny’s jaw dropped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit!” Aubrey gasped. Kel and Kim both jumped away from each other and screamed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When’d you get here!” Kel asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is the exact opposite of what I thought would happen!” Kim said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t believe this!” Aubrey laughed, “You two? I didn’t know you liked losers, Kim!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up! You like losers too!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No one is more of a loser than Kel!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Kel protested, “I think you’re just jealous.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aubrey put her head in her hands, “I can’t believe this! How long have you two been together?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None of your business!” Kim said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A while, not too long though,” Kel answered. Kim punched him in the arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, guys, what are we talking about?” Hero, along with Basil, Cris, and Mikhael behind him, appeared in the doorway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where were you! You missed-” Aubrey started.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They have a gym here!” Mikhael said pridefully, “That means I can grow my muscles even more while we’re staying here!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hero is gonna pick up a pizza for dinner!” Cris said cheerfully, “He said we can go with him if we want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna go, and Kim is coming with me! We have a lot to talk about.” Aubrey said while dragging Kim along with her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sunny, Kel, Basil, and Mikhael all sat in their room awaiting everyone else to return with food.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ya know, all the girls are gone,” Mikhael brought up, “You know what cool manly stuff we should do while they’re away?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Grill?” Kel asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Talk about our feelings?” Basil added</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peacefully await their return with no hijinx occurring whatsoever?” Sunny said quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You all are boring!” Mikhael scoffed, “Obviously, this is our time to talk about girls!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you’re just so great talking to them,” Basil said sarcastically.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly! That’s why we can skip me regarding the question I’m gonna ask!” Mikhael turned to Kel, “Kel! Who do you like?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a secret,” Kel said with a smile. Sunny couldn’t help but chuckle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re difficult!” Mikhael turned to Basil, “Basil! Who do you like?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Uh, I don’t really have any romantic interests in anyone right now...:” Basil told.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None of you are cool,” Mikhael groaned. He turned to Sunny, “Sunny! Who do you like?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, everybody knows who Sunny likes,” Kel said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t…” Sunny whimpered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is a bit obvious,” Basil said, “Although he did tell me himself…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait Sunny actually told you?” Kel looked astonished, “When did this happen?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were in middle school.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That long?!” Kel laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, now that you mention it, it IS quite obvious who Sunny likes!” Mikhael looked like he came up with a devious plan, “I propose we help Sunny out in his time of need!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no…” Sunny said fearfully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What exactly do you propose?” Kel asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mikhael put his hands on his hips, “Something that will help anyone with their romantic woes, a little something called foreplay!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ew…” Sunny recoiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I really REALLY hope you meant to say roleplay,” Basil said with disgust in his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, that is what I meant to say. A Freudian slip, if you will.” Mikhael forcefully sat Sunny down on the bed and sat in front of him. “After today, you will definitely be able to ask Cris out!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cris?” Basil looked confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude, he likes Aubrey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my gosh!” Sunny hid his face in his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah… Aubrey…” Mikhael thought about it for a bit, “Yes, I can see it. Sunny and Aubrey…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we not do this?” Sunny pled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Too late! It’s already in motion!” Mikhael said, “Now, are you ready for our roleplay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great! I’ll be Aubrey and you can be Sunny!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, glad to know I can be myself…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now let’s start!” Mikhael stared into Sunny’s eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Sunny! It is me, The Mav- I mean Aubrey!” Mikhael said in a horrid Aubrey impression, “I am not as cool as The Maverick, but I think I’m alright!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny sighed, “I don’t think this will help at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course it is! Now, this is the part where you kiss her- I mean me because I’m Aubrey!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I really don’t think she’d say that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a horrible Aubrey,” Kel said, “Let me try,” Kel pushed Mikhael away and sat in front of Sunny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You ready?” Kel asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do I get a choice?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope! Let’s go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny sighed, “Fine… Hello, Aubrey…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello Sunny!” Kel said in an equally bad Aubrey impression, “I just got done being mean to Kel for no reason. We got into an argument where Kel was obviously right, but I just HAD to fight him about it, and-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is oddly Kel-centric.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You guys are awful at this,” Basil said, “Please let me do it if we’re gonna do this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Kel conceded, “But I feel like I’m a tough act to follow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Basil sat in Kel’s place, “You ready Sunny?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess I’m ready as I’ll ever be…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Basil cleared his throat, “Hello Sunny, how are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Um… Hello… Aubrey. I’m, uh… I’m fine, I guess…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s good!” Basil said with a smile, “Now, wasn’t there something you wanted to tell me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dang, he’s good,” Kel commented</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but not as good as me!” Mikhael said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said you wanted to tell me something important, Sunny. What was it?” Basil asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did? Oh yeah… I-I did… I… um…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Basil smiled, “You can do it Sunny.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just… um, I…” Sunny stumbled over his words, “I wanted to tell you… that… I think you’re really cool and I… um… I want to be-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kim burst through the door, “Wassup bitches!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Language,” Hero sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hero has now said ‘language’ a total of seventeen times on this pizza trip alone!” Cris said happily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What kinda pizza you get?” Kel asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anchovies,” Aubrey said bluntly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“NOOOOOOOO!” Kel screamed as if he was going to die.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s just joking,” Hero told, “I didn’t know what everyone wanted so I just got plain cheese.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>*****************</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny lied down on the couch and tried to sleep. All his friends appeared to have already fallen into slumber. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>My birthday? This is all really for my birthday?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kinda sweet, isn’t it.” Sunny heard a voice above him. He found Abbi sitting on the windowsill, “They’re all doing this for you, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What's wrong with me checking up on my favorite person whose brain I live inside of?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean here in general. This is the real world… I think. Shouldn’t you stay inside my head?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aww, but there’s something I want to ask you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Abbi jumped down from the windowsill and stood in front of Sunny, “What is it like… to be alive?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are someone who is very much full of life. I am unfortunately unable to experience this wonder.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you are alive… Probably… I mean, you’re standing right in front of me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But am I truly alive? Truly, what am-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sunny, who are you talking to?” Sunny found Basil sitting up from his spot on the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t see her?” Sunny turned to Abbi, but she was no longer there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See who?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny sighed, “Nevermind… Goodnight Basil.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, okay… goodnight… I guess...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***************** </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunny woke up the next morning. No one else was still in bed. In fact, Sunny was alone in the hotel room. Sunny entered the bathroom and got changed into his regular clothes. He heard some muffled commotion from outside the door. As he exited the bathroom, he found everyone standing together, holding a cake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Happy birthday, Sunny!” They all cheered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hero, Kel, Aubrey, and Basil all gave Sunny a hug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We missed you for so long, we just had to do something special!” Kel said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We all came pitched in to pay for this trip, just for you!” Hero told.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, except for Cris and Mikhael,” Kim added. </span>
</p><p><span>“I would have helped!” Cris protested, “I just joined the friend circle recently so I didn’t know.”</span><span><br/>
</span> <span>“I’m holding the cake!” Mikhael said proudly, “That’s enough, right?”</span></p><p>
  <span>“Yup. Definitely good enough…” Basil said sarcastically. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… uh… I don’t really know what to say. You didn’t have to do this for me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but we did anyway!” Kel said with a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We always want you to be happy! You deserve it.” Aubrey told.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… Thank you…” Sunny took a deep breath. He almost started crying. Sunny found Abbi standing in the corner of the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What does it mean to be alive?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>...</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I think this is it…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Confession(s)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Big day for sunburn fans everywhere.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“<em>I still care about you... </em>”</p>
<p>“<em>I’ll always stay by your side… </em>”</p>
<p>“<em>I just feel different around you… </em>”</p>
<p>“<em>... </em>”</p>
<p>“<em>Maybe it’s time… I tell her… </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny woke up with a strong resolve. Today, he was going to do it. He was going to unveil his feelings for Aubrey. Sunny grabbed his phone and texted her.</p>
<p>
  <b>JULY 27th, 20XX. 11:03 AM</b>
</p>
<p>Sunny&gt; Wanna meet at the swings today at noonish?</p>
<p>Aubrey&gt; Sure</p>
<p>“<em>Wow, that was easy. </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny began brainstorming what he wanted to do as he got dressed. </p>
<p>“<em>What should I do? How should I go about this? What will I even say? </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny stepped into his kitchen. He opened the fridge and scanned for possible meals to make for both of them.</p>
<p>“<em>I should make her lunch. What would she like? Maybe I’ll make us both a bento. Why are there so many cabbages in this fridge? Maybe I should give her one for Bun-Bun. Bunnies like cabbages, right? </em>”</p>
<p>“What are you doing, big bro?” Nanako asked, startling Sunny. </p>
<p>“Oh! I was just… uh… making lunch.”</p>
<p>“You have a lot of food out, you must be really hungry!” </p>
<p>“No… I’m making food for someone else…”</p>
<p>“Ohhh okay! Can I help?”</p>
<p>“Sure.”</p>
<p>Nanako and Sunny prepared the lunches together. Sunny placed them in a plastic bag and made his way to Faraway Park. </p>
<p>“<em>How am I going to do this? This is a horrible idea. Okay, just calm down… It’s not like she’s gonna kill me if I tell her. Oh god, she’s gonna kill me. What am- </em>”</p>
<p>“Hey, Sunny, going shopping?” A voice asked. Sunny looked up and saw Adachi with a bag full of cabbages. </p>
<p>“Oh, hello Adachi… No, I’m just going to the park to have lunch…”</p>
<p>“Ah, I see,” Adachi eyed the bag in Sunny’s hands, “Looks like you got a lot there. You wouldn’t mind sharing with little ol’ me, would you?”</p>
<p>“I mean… I guess I could…” </p>
<p>“<em>Sorry, Bun-Bun. </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny pulled the cabbage out of his bag and placed it on Adachi’s cabbage pile. “You look like you really like cabbages, so here you go.”</p>
<p>Adachi looked extremely unamused, “I was just joking. You know what, whatever. Thanks for the cabbage.” He walked off murmuring to himself.</p>
<p>“<em>Why is he mad? Have I already done something wrong? I haven’t even seen Aubrey yet today. </em>”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sunny entered the park and found two kids had already taken the swings. </p>
<p>“<em>Our spot is taken! Now what am I going to do? </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny felt someone poke him in the ribs. He squealed.</p>
<p>“Hi Sunny. Didn’t mean to startle you,” Aubrey said. “So... You ticklish?”</p>
<p>“What? No!” Sunny took a step away. </p>
<p>Aubrey smiled deviously, “I see. I’ll keep that in mind for later.”</p>
<p>Sunny turned to the swings, “They took our spot…”</p>
<p>“Yeah, stupid kids, amirite?” Aubrey noticed the disappointment on Sunny’s face, “We can go sit on the bench.”</p>
<p>“Okay…”</p>
<p>The two walked over to a nearby bench and sat down.</p>
<p>“What’s in the bag?” Aubrey asked. </p>
<p>“This? Oh! It’s… uh… I made us both lunches… I hope you like it…” Sunny handed Aubrey a box and she opened it. Its contents consisted of rice, fish, and broccoli. </p>
<p>“This looks pretty good, better than what I usually eat.”</p>
<p>“Is that saying a lot?”</p>
<p>“Not really I guess… Sorry, that was mean of me. This looks amazing, thank you!” </p>
<p>The two enjoyed their meals together. </p>
<p>“That was really good!” Aubrey complimented, “Did you make this all by yourself?”</p>
<p>“Well, no... Actually, Nanako helped me…” </p>
<p>“That was nice of her.” The two sat in silence for a moment.</p>
<p>“<em>C’mon Sunny, you can do this. It’s now or never. </em>”</p>
<p>“Hey… Aubrey?” Sunny said quietly.</p>
<p>“Hm?”</p>
<p>“Can I… uh… can I tell you something?”</p>
<p>“What’s up?”</p>
<p>“Oh, I just wanted to tell you… that…” Sunny looked to Aubrey. He felt like she was staring into his soul. “I wanted to tell you…”</p>
<p>“<em>Why is this so difficult? Just fucking say it already! </em>”</p>
<p>“You alright Sunny?” Aubrey asked, “Your face is all red, did you get sunburnt from the beach?”</p>
<p>“No! I mean yes! I mean… I don’t know… I burn easily… I think.”</p>
<p>“Uh-huh…”</p>
<p>“That’s not what I wanted to tell you though…”</p>
<p>“It’d be kinda weird if it was. “</p>
<p>Sunny took a deep breath, “What I really wanted to say… was…” He noticed Aubrey staring more intently at him, “...was that… I… l-l-luh-lo-love y-y-”</p>
<p>“Could you speak a little louder? I can’t quite hear you.” Aubrey interrupted. </p>
<p>“Oh… Sorry… I-I wanted to say that… I l-love-y-y-yo-you…”</p>
<p>“I still can’t really hear you. Again?”</p>
<p>“I lo-love-y-y-”</p>
<p>“<em>Just spit it out! </em>”</p>
<p>“Aubrey, I love you!” </p>
<p>Aubrey’s facial expression didn’t change. She put her hands on Sunny’s shoulders.</p>
<p>“<em>Oh god, she’s gonna headbutt me! This is the end! </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny froze up, awaiting the fate Aubrey would bestow upon him. Sunny felt Aubrey wrap her arms around his back and press her lips against his. His eye shot open. He couldn’t fully process what was happening. He couldn’t believe that Aubrey was kissing him. Aubrey’s lips parted from Sunny’s and she moved away, leaving less than an inch between them.</p>
<p>“I heard you the first time, I just wanted to hear you say it again.”</p>
<p>“Wha…” Sunny failed to think of anything to say.</p>
<p> Aubrey leaned in for another kiss. This time, Sunny slowly wrapped his arms around Aubrey. </p>
<p>“<em>This is happening? Am I dreaming? I must be… </em>”</p>
<p>Aubrey parted from his lips once again. Sunny scrambled to try and think of what to say.</p>
<p>“So… uh… do you like me back?”</p>
<p>Aubrey chuckled, “Are you stupid or something?”</p>
<p>“Yes…”</p>
<p>“I’ve kissed you twice in the past minute and you ask if I like you back?”</p>
<p>“Well… when you put it that way…”</p>
<p>Aubrey sighed, “You’re such a dork,” She leaned in for a third kiss.</p>
<p>“<em>This… I never want this to end… </em>”</p>
<p>A flash of light appeared. Sunny and Aubrey turned to find Basil, Kel, and Kim, all behind a camera.</p>
<p>“You!” Aubrey sounded pissed.</p>
<p>“Now this is what I call a wonderful picture!” Kim laughed.</p>
<p>“How about a little payback, huh?” Kel smiled.</p>
<p>“Payback!? I didn’t even tell anyone! Unless you did!” Aubrey looked to Sunny, who just shook his head.</p>
<p>“I always knew you two would end up together,” Basil added.</p>
<p>“You’re fucking dead! All of you!” Aubrey stood up. She was seething.</p>
<p>“Hey, Kel?” Basil asked,</p>
<p>“Yo.”</p>
<p>“How fast can you run?”</p>
<p>“Fast enough,” Kel grabbed Basil’s camera and started to run away.</p>
<p>“Get back here!” Aubrey raged</p>
<p>“Let’s scatter!” Kim yelled. She, Basil, and Kel all ran off in different directions. Aubrey chased after Kel.</p>
<p>Sunny sat on the bench, still in bewilderment. </p>
<p>“Pretty cool, huh?” A voice said. Sunny turned and found Abbi sitting next to him.</p>
<p>“Y-yeah…”</p>
<p>“I knew you could do it!” Abbi smiled.</p>
<p>“Shut up!”</p>
<p>“Aren’t you happy? You’ve wanted this for so long!”</p>
<p>“I am happy.”</p>
<p>“Heck, you created me in Aubrey’s image.”</p>
<p>“Abbi…”</p>
<p>“You made her fall deeply in love with you in Headspace.”</p>
<p>“That was Omori!… I think... How do you even know about that?”</p>
<p>“I know everything about you, remember?” </p>
<p>Sunny sighed, “Whatever. Hey, if you’re here, am I dreaming?”</p>
<p>“Nah, you’re very much awake, I would know,” Abbi said, “Why? Ya scared this is a dream?”</p>
<p>“Honestly… yes…”</p>
<p>“You’re pathetic,” Abbi pointed over to Aubrey, who had returned to the park, "Hey look over there, it’s your girlfriend!”</p>
<p>“G-girlfriend!” Sunny said shocked. He looked over to Aubrey, who appeared defeated. </p>
<p>“Anyways, I just wanted to congratulate you!” Abbi said, “You kids have fun now!” </p>
<p>Aubrey sat down next to Sunny, “I… I couldn’t catch any of them.”</p>
<p>“Oh…” Sunny noticed that the swings were now vacant. “You wanna go sit over there? On the swings?”</p>
<p>“Yeah…”</p>
<p>The two walked over to the swings and sat in their usual spot. </p>
<p>“So uh…” Aubrey cleared her throat, “How long have you liked me?”</p>
<p>“Forever…” Sunny said quietly.</p>
<p>“That makes two of us.”</p>
<p>“Wait. For real?”</p>
<p>“Yeah…” Aubrey sighed, “I wanted to tell you, but I thought it had been so long that any relationship we had would have disappeared.”</p>
<p>“Oh… I’m sorry…”</p>
<p>Aubrey shook her head, “Well, we’re… together now, right?”</p>
<p>“Y-yeah… I guess we are…”</p>
<p>“Do you remember when Mari and I would have our girl talk?” </p>
<p>“Yeah? She’d always take you into another room or something. We all wondered what you two were talking about.”</p>
<p>“Growing up… looking pretty… you…”</p>
<p>“Me!? Did Mari… Did you…”</p>
<p>“Yup… Mari squeezed it out of me. She’d always tease me about it.”</p>
<p>“You too? Although it’s probably different when you live with her and she brings it up at dinner...”</p>
<p>“That’s hilarious! I’m so sorry.”</p>
<p>Sunny sighed, “Well, you know Mari… always looking to cause mischief.”</p>
<p>“You know, she told me that I should confess to you, specifically right after… the recital… </p>
<p>“Really? She told me to tell you after the recital too! She helped me write you a letter and everything.”</p>
<p>“Is that so…” </p>
<p>“<em>And then I had to go and ruin everything. </em>”</p>
<p>“The letter you wrote, what did it say?” Aubrey asked.</p>
<p>“Um… you know… stuff…”</p>
<p>Aubrey raised an eyebrow, “What kind of stuff?”</p>
<p>“Uh…”</p>
<p>“C’mon, is it really that embarrassing?”</p>
<p>“Yeah… Twelve-year-old Sunny wasn’t smooth, even with Mari helping me write it…”</p>
<p>“So you do remember what it says,” Aubrey smiled deviously. </p>
<p>“Only vaguely…”</p>
<p>“So tell me what it said!” </p>
<p>“I remember it saying that I’m happy when I’m around you. See? Just cheesy garbage… Why are you so adamant about knowing what a five-year-old letter said?” </p>
<p>“Cuz it was probably cute.” Aubrey smiled.</p>
<p>“Oh… well… uh…”</p>
<p>“Just like you when you get flustered.” Aubrey booped Sunny on the nose.</p>
<p>“Uwa… H-hey! What was that for?”</p>
<p>“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”</p>
<p>“W-why?”</p>
<p>“I just said it's cute when you're flustered, it's not that hard to understand.”</p>
<p>Sunny and Aubrey’s phones buzzed.</p>
<p>“What do you think that could be?” Aubrey said sarcastically.</p>
<p>
  <b>JULY 27th, 20XX. 12:46 PM</b>
</p>
<p>Basil&gt; Hey guys, Cris just showed me this cool anime.</p>
<p>Aubrey&gt; Basil where are you?</p>
<p>Basil&gt; It’s called Kill la Kill, it’s pretty neat.</p>
<p>Aubrey&gt; Basil I just wanna talk.</p>
<p>Sunny&gt; Why specifically that one?</p>
<p>Cris&gt; Cuz it cool B)</p>
<p>Kim&gt; Basil is a weeb!</p>
<p>Aubrey&gt; Kim where are you? We need to talk.</p>
<p>Cris&gt; Actually it called Otaku </p>
<p>Kim&gt; Cris is a weeb!</p>
<p>Aubrey&gt; Kim you have anime posters in your room.</p>
<p>Kim&gt; Oh yeah, that reminds me. We haven’t sent the photo yet.</p>
<p>Kel&gt; sent an image</p>
<p>Cris&gt; NO WAY THEY KISSED?</p>
<p>Aubrey&gt; I am going to destroy you</p>
<p>Cris&gt; saved an image</p>
<p>Kim&gt; saved an image</p>
<p>Sunny&gt; saved an image</p>
<p>Basil&gt; saved an image</p>
<p>Aubrey&gt; saved an image</p>
<p>Aubrey&gt; Wait why does it say that</p>
<p>Mikhael&gt; IT SAYS WHEN YOU SAVE IMAGES? WHY DOES NO ONE SAVE MY PICTURES?</p>
<p>Basil&gt; Kel can I have my camera back?</p>
<p>Kel&gt; Is it safe to return it?</p>
<p>Kim&gt; Careful, Aubrey seems to really want that camera lol</p>
<p>Kel&gt; I’ll have you know I’m sitting right next to Kim and she didn’t actually laugh out loud</p>
<p>Kim&gt; Fuck you</p>
<p>Aubrey&gt; So you’re together. Where are you? Are you at Kel’s house?</p>
<p>Kel&gt; How did you know?</p>
<p>Aubrey&gt; Because you just told me! Count you’re days</p>
<p>Basil&gt; Your*</p>
<p>Aubrey&gt; You too Basil</p>
<p>Henry&gt; Oh wow. </p>
<p>Henry&gt; saved an image</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re not actually gonna go… try to get that camera, right?” Sunny asked.</p>
<p>“Might... why?”</p>
<p>“Well… I kinda want to… hang out more…”</p>
<p>“You mean... like a date?”</p>
<p>“Um…” Sunny played with his hands, “I… y-yeah… t-that would be c-cool.”</p>
<p>“Alright, their execution can wait,” Aubrey stood up, “So… what do you wanna do?”</p>
<p>“I… don’t know. I didn’t plan this far… wanna go for a walk or something?”</p>
<p>“Okay, sounds fun!”</p>
<p>Aubrey grabbed Sunny’s hand and they walked around Faraway together.</p>
<p>*****************</p>
<p>Sunny and Aubrey stood in the driveway to Ryotaro’s house. </p>
<p>“I… uh… I had a really good time today,” Sunny said. </p>
<p>“Yeah, M-me too!” Aubrey extended her arms out.</p>
<p>“Oh! Uh, yeah…” Sunny walked into Aubrey and they shared an awkward hug.</p>
<p>“So, see you tomorrow?”</p>
<p>“Y-yeah. See you tomorrow… Love you…”</p>
<p>Aubrey smiled, “Love you too.”</p>
<p>Sunny watched Aubrey skip away. He entered his house and made sure no one else was around.</p>
<p>“YES!” Sunny jumped in the air and shook his fists, “YES! WOO! I did it! YEAH!”</p>
<p>“What the hell are you doing?!”</p>
<p>“Uncle Ryotaro!” Sunny jumped, “I-I didn’t know you were here…”</p>
<p>“Why are you dancing around like a four-year-old!”</p>
<p>“I-I don’t know…”</p>
<p>“Hmph,” Ryotaro shook his head. </p>
<p>Sunny walked up to his room in shame. </p>
<p>*****************</p>
<p>Sunny sat alone in his room reading. The clock struck midnight and Sunny’s television turned itself on.</p>
<p>“<em>No… not again… Today of all days… </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny closely inspected the TV, but he couldn’t make out who was on it. The silhouette slowly disappeared and Sunny’s phone rang.</p>
<p>“Hello?” Sunny answered.</p>
<p>“Hey, loverboy, It’s ya’ girl Kim.”</p>
<p>“Hi, Kim. I’m assuming you saw-”</p>
<p>“I have no idea who that was.”</p>
<p>“Yeah… me neither…”</p>
<p>“We should probably discuss it tomorrow, right?”</p>
<p>“Definitely.”</p>
<p>“Anyways, on a lighter note,” Kim cleared her throat, “How was it?”</p>
<p>“Huh?”</p>
<p>“You know what I’m talking about. You? Aubrey? Smoochy smoochy?”</p>
<p>“Oh… uh… It was…”</p>
<p>“You sound sooooo embarrassed right now.”</p>
<p>Sunny sighed, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kim.”</p>
<p>“Wait no! I just wanna-”</p>
<p>Sunny hung up. He plopped down onto his bed and closed his eyes.</p>
<p>“<em>What a day… </em>”</p>
<p>*****************</p>
<p>Sunny woke up to the sound of sirens. </p>
<p>“<em>Huh? What the hell is this? </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny rushed downstairs and turned on the news. </p>
<p>“Serial murderer strikes back. High School teacher, Kinshiro Morooka, was found dead near Othermart. His body was-”</p>
<p>“Sunny…”</p>
<p>Sunny turned and found Nanako standing behind him, “Nanako! Don’t look.”</p>
<p>“Big bro… am…” Nanako started tearing up, “Are we going to be alright?”</p>
<p>“I’m sure… y-your dad will protect us… I’ll… I won’t let anyone hurt you…” Sunny wrapped his arm around Nanako. </p>
<p>“<em>How did this happen? How could this happen? Only a silhouette appeared on the TV last night. It’s never happened like this before. </em>”</p>
<p>“Big bro, can you stay here today?” Nanako asked.</p>
<p>“<em>I need to talk to my friends about this. </em>”</p>
<p>“Yes, I’ll stay here,” Sunny said.</p>
<p>“Thank you!”</p>
<p>Sunny decided that his best choice of action would be to call everyone over. He explained how he thought it would be better not to leave Nanako alone. All of Sunny’s friends eventually arrived at his house, and they all went into Sunny’s room to discuss what had happened. </p>
<p>“So I’m guessing we all saw the news?” Sunny asked. </p>
<p>“Someone died again…” Basil started, “Do you think… It’s our fault? Did we fail to save him?</p>
<p>“No, no one has entered the TV world,” Mikhael told.</p>
<p>“How would you know?” Kim asked, raising an eyebrow.</p>
<p>“Whenever someone enters that world, I can feel it,” Mikhael explained, “It’s like a sixth sense. Look, just trust me on this one. I guarantee nobody has entered that world.”</p>
<p>“I think Mikhael is onto something, “Cris said, “Sometimes, I see flashes from that world, I think it has to do with my persona being a scanner.”</p>
<p>“That sounds kinda scary,” Basil worried.</p>
<p>“It was at first, but I got used to it,” Cris explained, “Anyways, I haven't seen any people in there, so I think this doesn’t involve that world.”</p>
<p>“That’s what irks me,” Kel said, “The way King Moron died was the exact same as that news reporter from three months ago.”</p>
<p>“You’re really calling him ‘King Moron’ even after he died?” Aubrey asked.</p>
<p>“Sorry, force of habit.”</p>
<p>“Honestly, why him?” Kim thought, “We’ve been able to see every person who’s been captured clearly on the midnight channel, so why weren’t we able to last night?”</p>
<p>“Maybe the killer caught on to what we were doing?” Aubrey thought, “We’ve managed to stop them three times. They might be changing their tactics.”</p>
<p>“That’s possible…” Sunny said, “However, we can’t forget that we did see someone last night. We absolutely have to watch the midnight channel tonight.”</p>
<p>“Agreed,” Everyone else said together.</p>
<p>“Now, um, can you all… do me a favor?” Sunny asked.</p>
<p>“Sure, what’s up?” Kel agreed.</p>
<p>“Um… Nanako seems… I want to do something for her.”</p>
<p>“Like what?” Basil asked.</p>
<p>“I don’t know… I just want to let her know she’s safe… That we’re here for her…”</p>
<p>“Why not just hang out with her?” Mikhael suggested, “Best way to be there for someone is to, you know, be there?”</p>
<p>“Y-yeah you’re right… Geez, I’m stupid…”</p>
<p>“Wow, something actually insightful from Mikhael?” Kim said.</p>
<p>“Everything I say is insightful!” Mikhael protested.</p>
<p>The group walked downstairs to see Nanako. </p>
<p>“Hey Nanako,” Sunny started, “You’ve met some of them already, but these are my friends. Today, we wanted to… uh… hang out with you.”</p>
<p>“Really!?” Nanako’s face lit up, “Wow! I get to hang out with the big kids!”</p>
<p>“So uh… what do you wanna do?” </p>
<p>“Hmm… I’m kinda hungry,” Nanako said.</p>
<p>“Kim and I can make lunch for everyone!” Aubrey told.</p>
<p>“Oh! I should help too!” Sunny said nervously. </p>
<p>“Awww, you just wanna get close to Aubrey,” Kim mocked.</p>
<p>“No! I mean yes! I mean… I just wanna make my cousin food, is that so wrong?”</p>
<p>“<em>If those two make anything, they’re gonna poison everyone here </em>”</p>
<p>“Sunny has made me food before!” Nanako smiled, “It’s really good!”</p>
<p>“See? Nanako wants me to cook too!” Sunny said.</p>
<p>“Yeah yeah, whatever you say, loverboy,” Kim smirked. </p>
<p>“Well if you’re doing that, I’m gonna steal your Playstation,” Kel said, “Ya know, bring it down here so we can play while you’re cooking.”</p>
<p>“Just don’t break anything,” Sunny shook his head. </p>
<p>“You know what? I think I’ll leave you two lovebirds to cook then if Kel’s gonna be playing games,” Kim waved her hand.</p>
<p>“Shut up!” Aubrey yelled.</p>
<p>Sunny and Aubrey started to make lunch while everyone else watched Kel play Sunny’s games on the downstairs TV.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sunny did most of the cooking, while Aubrey tried to suggest unfitting ingredients.</p>
<p>“You worried?”Aubrey asked.</p>
<p>“All the time.”</p>
<p>“I mean… about Nanako.”</p>
<p>Sunny sighed, “Yeah… This morning we saw what happened on the news together… no seven-year-old should ever see something like that.”</p>
<p>“What happened after that?”</p>
<p>“Well… I didn’t want to leave her alone, but I had to talk to all of you about it too, so now here we are.”</p>
<p>“Nanako looks happy, I think she feels safe around you. You did the right thing.”</p>
<p>Sunny looked back to Nanako. She looked happy, watching Kel, Kim, Cris, and Basil fight each other in a game, “Y-yeah… I just wanna pro- Hey! What are you doing with that steak sauce?”</p>
<p>“Oops! I mean, maybe it’ll spice up our lunches!”</p>
<p>“Who puts steak sauce in a salad?”</p>
<p>“You weren’t supposed to notice,” Aubrey pouted. </p>
<p>“Anyways… I just wanna have Nanako feel like she’s safe, you know?”</p>
<p>“Seems to me like you’re really living up to the ‘big brother’ role she gave you.”</p>
<p>“Mari always protected me… I wanna… do the same for Nanako…”</p>
<p>“Oooh, how noble!” Aubrey wrapped her arms around Sunny’s, “Always trying to do the right thing!”</p>
<p>“Y-yeah…” </p>
<p>“Hey, Sun.”</p>
<p>“Yes?”</p>
<p>“Do you think I’m too clingy?”</p>
<p>“No, why would you ask that?”</p>
<p>“Well… I’ve basically been emulating what I saw Hero and Mari did when they were together. They were always super close together. I just wanted to ask if that’s weird to you.”</p>
<p>“Just do whatever makes you happy… chances are that’ll make me happy too.”</p>
<p>“Aww, if that’s the case, I’m gonna keep your arm captive!” Aubrey smirked.</p>
<p>“Oh god, they’re doing cutesy shi-” Kim cut herself off, “-iii... cutesy cra-ahhh… stuff.”</p>
<p>“Good job, Kim,” Cris said sarcastically.</p>
<p>“Shut up!” Kim yelled.</p>
<p>“Anyway… Foods pretty much ready,” Sunny said. He and Aubrey dished out the salad Sunny had made to everyone. They all enjoyed lunch together and spent the rest of the day talking.</p>
<p>*****************</p>
<p>“<em>Why does this always take so long? </em>”</p>
<p>Sunny once again sat in front of the TV waiting for the midnight channel to turn on. After what felt like an eternity, the TV turned on and a clear figure appeared.</p>
<p>“<em>Who is this? They look… vaguely familiar. </em>”</p>
<p>The person on the television spoke, “You think you know everything about me? Everybody thinks they know everything about me?” The person turned his back to the screen, “Come try and stop me. I’m the one you’re looking for.” The screen slowly returned to static and Sunny couldn’t see anything anymore. Shortly after, he received a call from Kel.</p>
<p>“Hello?” Sunny answered.</p>
<p>“Did you see it?”</p>
<p>“Yeah… No clue who that is.”</p>
<p>“He kinda looks familiar,” Kel said, “Wasn’t he in our class?”</p>
<p>“I don’t remember. Maybe? He said that he was the one ‘we were looking for,’ do you think... he’s the killer?”</p>
<p>“If that’s true, and he is the one in our class… You think he wanted revenge on King Moron?” </p>
<p>“It’s possible… We’ll need to talk about this tomorrow. Guess we’re going back into that world.”</p>
<p>“If he’s our guy, this will be the last time we need to do this.”</p>
<p>“That’s true! We should rest up. Big day tomorrow.”</p>
<p>“Of course. Goodnight, Kel.”</p>
<p>“Night Sunny.”</p>
<p>Kel and Sunny hung up. Almost immediately after, Sunny got a call from Aubrey.</p>
<p>“Sunny! You know who that is!?” Aubrey yelled through the phone.</p>
<p>“I just got done talking to Kel, we think he was in our class.”</p>
<p>“It’s the guy you called a pervert like three months ago! Remember?”</p>
<p>“Wait, that guy?”</p>
<p>“Yes! Why was he taunting the screen, isn’t he supposed to be talking about his insecurities? Really pisses me off.”</p>
<p>“He might be the killer we looked for.”</p>
<p>“Huh?”</p>
<p>“He said he’s who we’re looking for. You think… he knows we were watching?”</p>
<p>“He… could he know? How would he know?”</p>
<p>“And since he was in our class, maybe he killed our teacher? Maybe he’s been out for us ever since… the first murder…”</p>
<p>“That… Kinda makes sense actually… Everyone after the news reporter is someone we know.”</p>
<p>“We’ll just have to see tomorrow. We should get some rest before we go to that world.”</p>
<p>“You’re right, Sunny. Well, goodnight then, I guess.”</p>
<p>“Goodnight Aubrey.”</p>
<p>Aubrey and Sunny hung up. Sunny went to bed to get ready for another day in the TV world.</p>
<p>*****************</p>
<p>Everyone stood in front of their main entrance to the TV world in the Othermart electronics section. </p>
<p>“Everyone ready?” Sunny asked.</p>
<p>“Looks like another fun adventure,” Kim sighed.</p>
<p>“Just so you all know, I did in fact feel someone enter this world,” Mikhael said.</p>
<p>“Why didn’t you tell us?” Basil asked.</p>
<p>“We were gonna watch the midnight channel anyways, figured it would just be redundant to tell you,” Mikhael explained.</p>
<p>“Maybe just tell us next time anyway?” Cris sighed. </p>
<p>“I don’t think there will be a next time,” Sunny said, “If this guy is the killer like he implied he is, then this will be our last mission.”</p>
<p>“Then let’s get it done!” Kel gave a thumbs up.</p>
<p>“Yes, let's do just that. </p>
<p>Sunny and his friends all entered the TV world.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>See, I told you it was a big day! Adachi got a cabbage.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Running Away From One's Shadow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And just like regular Persona 4, this dungeon was the hardest for me (to write).</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Once again, Sunny and his friends stood at the entrance of the TV world. Mikhael tried to sniff out where the boy from the previous night was, but Cris swiftly beat him to it.</p><p>“I found him!” Cris jumped up and down, “I really found it! My persona did the thing!”</p><p>“That’s my job!” Mikhael complained.</p><p>“Well too late! Human person found that way!” Cris pointed off into the distance. Everyone followed her until they reached a blocky-looking castle. </p><p>“What an odd-looking place,” Basil commented.</p><p>“Kinda reminds me of a video game,” Kel added.</p><p>“What makes you say that?” Kim asked. Kel pointed to a sign above them. It simply stated “Start Game” and “Continue”</p><p>“Looks like a game to me,” Kel said.</p><p>“Does this guy think the world is just a game?” Aubrey asked angrily.</p><p>“We’ll find out everything once we find him,” Sunny said, “Can you tell how many floors are in this one?”</p><p>“Why yes, there are-” Mikhael was cut off by Cris.</p><p>“Ten floors! Easy-peasy!"</p><p>“Cris stop stealing my job!” </p><p>“You have a persona, that means you can do the fighting!” Cris smiled.</p><p>“Damn, I was getting really used to sitting back and watching the show,” Mikhael sighed.</p><p>The group entered the blocky castle. They almost immediately heard Mitsuo’s voice.</p><p>“Yes, I did it… I killed Morooka… What?... Tv reporter?... Cris? Basil? Aubrey? They’re still alive though…”</p><p>“Mitsuo!” Aubrey growled.</p><p>“He just confessed!” Basil gasped. </p><p>“It sounded like he was talking to someone…” Sunny thought out loud, “Maybe he’s confessing to someone in the real world?”</p><p>“That fucker tried to kill us!” Aubrey raged, “He threw us in here, and tried to kill us!”</p><p>“What does he even have against us?” Cris wondered. </p><p>“Well… once we get to the top, we’ll know what his problem is, right?” Sunny said.</p><p>“Then let's go!” Mikhael yelled, “I wanna try out my new cool moves on an unsuspecting monster, and I think I see just the target!”</p><p>The group looked over to a lone shadow in the middle of the hallway. Once it noticed Mikhael, the shadow turned into a sword-wielding hand that sprouted from the ground. </p><p>“Take this, shadow guy! Go, Kintoki-Douji!” Mikhael’s persona cast an ice attack on the shadow. It disappeared in a puff of smoke shortly after. “Ya see that!? Who’s the best there ever was? This guy!” </p><p>“Yes Mikhael, you’re very strong,” Kim said sarcastically. </p><p>“I know right!” Mikhael put his hands on his hips. </p><p>The group pressed forward throughout the dungeon.</p><p>******************</p><p>“We have been walking around this specific hallway for over AN HOUR!” Kim complained. </p><p>“God damn intersection keeps turning us around! This place makes no sense!” Aubrey added. </p><p>“I’m getting really tired…” Basil sighed, “I-I don’t think I can keep this up much longer.”</p><p>“If he really wants to hide, I guess it makes sense his penultimate floor would be this confusing,” Cris noted. </p><p>“We just… have to press on… a little further…” Sunny said.</p><p>“Hey Sun, are you alright?” Kel asked.</p><p>“I’m fine.” </p><p>“You don’t look fine,” Kel said.</p><p>“Thanks…” </p><p>“No, he’s right,” Aubrey said, “We should rest for a bit.”</p><p>“It’s fine, I really am fine.”</p><p>“You got slapped by a huge hand monster, I think you deserve some rest.”</p><p>“I just… okay, we’ll rest for a bit.”</p><p>The gang all found a place hidden from any shadows to rebuild their energy. Sunny laid down on the cold blocky floor, and Basil sat next to him.</p><p>“Are you really alright?” Basil asked.</p><p>“A little tired… a little sore… I just wanna get this done.”</p><p>“I wish I could help, but it seems like only Aubrey and Mikhael have healing skills.”</p><p>“Healing doesn’t make the tired go away.”</p><p>Cris walked up to the two of them, “I think I know what your problem is.”</p><p>“Huh?” the two boys said.</p><p>“Himiko shows me some weird stuff when you all are fighting. It’s kinda like I can see your stats.”</p><p>“Stats? Like in a video game?” Sunny asked.</p><p>“Well… this place does look like a video game…” Basil added.</p><p>“I wonder if that’s it,” Cris said, “Anyways, your HP, which I would assume is how healthy you are, is mostly full, your SP isn’t.”</p><p>“SP? What’s that?” Basil asked.</p><p>“Dunno. It goes down whenever any of you use magic though. I’m assuming it’s like MP.”</p><p>“So we have magic points?” Sunny thought out loud.</p><p>“Seems so! I’m guessing that the more you use, the more tired you’ll be,” Cris explained, “I wonder if it’ll be the same in other dungeons.”</p><p>“Well I am always super tired after we leave… maybe it is,” Sunny said. </p><p>The three heard Mikhael yell, “I’m bored! Let’s go!”</p><p>“We’ll go when we’re done resting!” Aubrey scolded. </p><p>“We can go now,” Sunny said.</p><p>“You sure?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m good. For real… We can go now.”</p><p>“Alright, let's get this show on the road!” Cris stood up and raised her fist in the air.</p><p>******************</p><p>After another hour of wandering around, everyone eventually found the stairs to the final floor and stood in front of a large wooden door. They entered and saw Mitsuo standing right next to another Mitsuo.</p><p>“It’s him!” Basil gasped.</p><p>“Listen here, bastard! We’re taking you down!” Aubrey yelled.</p><p>“Wait a minute, is that his shadow?” Kel asked.</p><p>Mitsuo began speaking. “I did it! I killed them! Why won’t you answer me!?” </p><p>The other Mitsuo remained silent.</p><p>“Answer me dammit!”</p><p>“Which one’s the shadow?” Basil asked.</p><p>Mitsuo turned to the gang, “What!? Who are you? What are you doing here?”</p><p>“Are you the killer?” Kim asked bluntly. </p><p>“Oh, heheh, yeah! I killed them alright.”</p><p>“You…” Kim shook her head, “You heartless dick!”</p><p>The previously silent Mitsuo spoke, “I… am nothing… I feel nothing…”</p><p>“What does that even mean!?” The other Mitsuo asked.</p><p>“You are also nothing… because you are me…”</p><p>“No! That’s not true! I’m not nothing!” Mitsuo denied. </p><p>“Here we go again…” Kel sighed. </p><p>Mitsuo turned to the gang, “You… I’ll kill you all! You know I can do it, so I’ll do it!” </p><p>“So… you deny me…” The ground shook and the other Mitsuo began to transform. The real Mitsuo fell to the ground and blacked out.</p><p>“This is it,” Cris said, “After this fight, all this investigation stuff will be over!”</p><p>“Let’s give it everything we’ve got!” Sunny yelled.</p><p>Mitsuo’s shadow transformed into a floating baby-like creature. Shortly after, many blocks appeared around it and formed a character that looked straight out of a video game.</p><p>“I am… a shadow… Come… I’ll end your emptiness…”</p><p>“Is that supposed to be a game character?” Kim asked, “Like, c’mon! It’s 20XX, why is it all blocky and stuff!” </p><p>“I don’t care what it is, I’m kicking its ass!” Aubrey yelled.</p><p>“Guys, the real shadow is inside that thing!” Cris informed, “You’ll have to destroy the outside shell first!”</p><p>A sign with text on it appeared above the shadow’s head. A cursor also appeared and hovered next to the word “attack”. The large blocky creature swung a sword at the group. Everyone narrowly avoided the attack.</p><p>“It’s acting just like a video game!” Kim yelled, “So what do we gotta do? Jump on its head three times?”</p><p>“I think we’re just gonna have to beat on it,” Sunny said, “Now come… Hitokonusi!” A humanoid figure appeared behind Sunny. Its body was covered in leaves. The persona summoned a lightning bolt and struck the shadow. </p><p>“Good hit!” Kel gave a thumbs up, “Now it’s my turn! Jiraiya!” Kel’s persona blew a gust of wind at the video game character. </p><p>“It’s shell looks weakened!” Cris told, “Just a little bit more!” </p><p>Another box appeared above the shadow’s head, and the cursor hovered above the word “Item”. A bomb fell from the sky and landed in front of Sunny and his team.</p><p>“That’s probably not good!” Basil braced for impact. </p><p>The bomb exploded, flinging everyone backward. </p><p>“All right, that’s it!” Aubrey growled. She ran forward and swung her bat at the shadow, “How do ya like this!?” Blocks flew off and revealed the baby creature within. </p><p>“Alright, now!” Sunny yelled.</p><p>“We’re attacking a baby?” Kel asked.</p><p>“Still a shadow. Still gonna get its ass kicked,” Kim said. </p><p>Everybody charged the shadow and Cris clapped, “That was amazing! One more of those and I’d say it’s done!”</p><p>“Why do you reject emptiness…” The shadow moaned. The previously removed blocks returned and covered the baby creature. </p><p>“It’s shield is back up!” Cris said, “You gotta take it down again!”</p><p>“Pain in my ass,” Aubrey groaned. </p><p>Yet another text box appeared above the shadow’s head. This time, the cursor was over the word “spell”. </p><p>“Spell? Spell what?” Kel asked.</p><p>“Gigadyne apparently,” Kim pointed at a word that appeared above the shadow. </p><p>A large fire engulfed the area around everyone. Sunny and his friends fell to the ground.</p><p>“Now this looks like a job for The Maverick!” Mikhael struggled to stand up. “Time to do a little healing.” </p><p>A green light enveloped everyone, and they all got back to their feet. </p><p>“Ew, I was healed by Mikhael!” Kim grimaced. </p><p>“Cry about it,” Mikhael smiled.</p><p>“I’ll give someone something to cry about,” Aubrey said angrily. She pointed towards the shadow, “Burn!” Aubrey’s persona shot a fireball at Shadow Mitsuo. Once again, the blocky exterior disappeared. </p><p>“Looks like this is it!” Sunny yelled. Everyone ran in for an all-out attack. The baby creature fell to the floor.</p><p>“Did we do it!?” Kel asked.</p><p>“I think… we did it…” Sunny said.</p><p>“Guys, look!” Basil pointed to the real Mitsuo, who had just awoken. Behind him stood his shadow. </p><p>“Look who’s awake!” Aubrey cracked her knuckles, “Someone has some explaining to do!”</p><p>Mitsuo groaned, “W-where am I? Who are you?”</p><p>“Did you really do it?” Kim asked. “Did you really kill two people and try to kill my friends!?”</p><p>“The blame…” Mitsuo started, “On me… Yes! I did it! I killed them! Morooka, the news bitch! I did it!” </p><p>Mitsuo’s shadow disappeared. </p><p>“Huh?” Cris said, “The shadow disappeared.”</p><p>Mitsuo laughed, “Hah! Yeah, serves you right, monster! I’ll never be no one now!” He fell to the ground.</p><p>“I-is he alright?” Basil asked.</p><p>“We need to get out of here,” Kel said, “We can ask this guy everything once we’re outside.</p><p>******************</p><p>Everyone stood outside the entrance TV in the Othermart electronics section. Mitsuo had just returned to his senses. </p><p>“Huh… now where am I?...” He asked.</p><p>“You have a lot to answer for!” Aubrey yelled, “Now tell us why! Why did you do it!?”</p><p>“Because…” Mitsuo smiled “...fame.”</p><p>“Fame!” Kim yelled angrily, “You killed people so people would notice you!?”</p><p>“Yes…” Mitsuo looked at Aubrey, “And it’s working… You’re talking to me!”</p><p>“You’re sick!” Aubrey grabbed Mitsuo’s shirt collar and raised him into the air, “You’re a fucking monster!”</p><p>“What’re you gonna do, kill me?” Mitsuo laughed.</p><p>Aubrey threw Mitsuo to the ground and kicked him in the ribs, “No… You’re gonna pay for your crimes. We’re gonna make sure you rot until you realize what you did. Death isn’t coming to you that easily.” Aubrey looked at Kel, “Call the cops!”</p><p>“On it!” Kel pulled out his phone and called the police. A while later, authorities arrived and arrested Mitsuo. </p><p> </p><p>“I can’t believe it!” Aubrey clenched her fists, “Killed people… just to be noticed!?”</p><p>“What’s important is… he’s gonna be behind bars now, right?” Basil said.</p><p>“Yup!” Kel said happily, “Our mission is done! I think this calls for a celebration!”</p><p>“After all this, you want to party?” Aubrey asked angrily. </p><p>“Do we not deserve it?” Kim shrugged, “I mean, we DID catch the bad guy and save the day! I think there’s nothing more deserving of a celebration than that.”</p><p>Aubrey sighed, “Yeah… I guess…”</p><p>“Uh oh… guys…” Kel said while looking at his phone, “Check the group chat.”</p><p>Everyone else pulled out their phones and found many unread messages.</p><p>
  <b>JULY 29th, 20XX. 2:07 PM</b>
</p><p>Henry&gt; Have any of you seen Kel?</p><p>Henry&gt; Hello?</p><p>Henry&gt; Where are you guys?</p><p>Henry&gt; ??????</p><p>Henry&gt; Mikhael are you with Kel?</p><p>Henry&gt; Mikhael send me a picture of you and Kel.</p><p>“Oh yeah! Someone wants a picture of me!” Mikhael exclaimed. He immediately took a photo of himself. Everyone else could be seen in it.</p><p>“Don’t do that-” Kim started</p><p>“Too late!” Mikhael laughed</p><p>Mikhael&gt; Sent an image</p><p>Henry&gt; So you’re all at Othermart.</p><p>“Our location has been leaked!” Kel put his hands on his head, “I’m really in for it now!” </p><p>“Did you sneak out again?” Kim asked.</p><p>“I uh… was supposed to do a lot of chores today, but this is kinda more important,” Kel scratched the back of his neck.</p><p>“Well… I’m glad you came,” Sunny said, “All of you… I… This isn’t the kind of thing you could do by yourself…”</p><p>Kel put his hand on Sunny’s shoulder, “Of course! We’ll always have your back!”</p><p>“Even when you’re fighting demons,” Kim said.</p><p>“Literal and metaphorical,” Aubrey added.</p><p>“There you are!” Everyone heard a voice. They turned and found Hero walking briskly towards them.</p><p>“That was fast…” Basil whispered to himself.</p><p>“Oh! H-hey Hero!” Kel said nervously.</p><p>“I have been looking ALL OVER for you!” Hero yelled, “Where have you been?! Where were any of you?! Do you know how worried mom and dad were!?”</p><p>Kel waved his hands in front of him, “We were doing something really important!”</p><p>“He’s right. Don’t be too hard on him,” Aubrey defended.</p><p>“See Hero, even Aubrey is defending Kel,” Kim said, “That’s how you know we were doing nothing wrong.”</p><p>Hero’s eyes squinted, “Now I’m even more suspicious,” He turned to Kim, “I honestly thought he’d be at your house.”</p><p>“You didn’t talk to my parents, did you!?” Kim looked scared.</p><p>“I knew something was up when they said you were at our house.”</p><p>“NOO!” Kim screamed, “Now I’m gonna be in trouble too!” Kim crossed her arms, “You know what Hero? You are no longer on my list of top five hottest people.”</p><p>“I-... What?” </p><p>Kim shook her head, “I know, it sucks, but you brought this on yourself.”</p><p>“I’m in first place, right?” Mikhael asked.</p><p>“No way! I’m in first place!” Kim said, “You’re not even in the top twenty.”</p><p>“Anyways, enough of this! Kel, you’re coming home,” Hero grabbed Kel’s arm. </p><p>“Nooo! I don’t wanna do chores! I already had a big day!”</p><p>“Should have thought of that before you ran off.”</p><p>“Sorry Kel,” Kim waved. She sighed, “Guess I should go home too. Who knows what trouble I’ll be in…” </p><p>“Hopefully not too much,” Aubrey said, “Well, see ya later right?”</p><p>“Yup! See ya later!” Kim gave Aubrey a fistbump, “That is… if I’m not grounded for the rest of my life.” Kim left the store. </p><p>“Ooh! I know what we could do!” Cris jumped, “Let's all go to my house! I don’t think you’ve seen it yet.”</p><p>“Sounds epic, but I have some VERY important things I need to do,” Mikhael shrugged.</p><p>“What kind of important things?” Basil asked.</p><p>“Well, we beat up another shadow! I got to regale Angel with my heroics.”</p><p>“You tell Angel about the persona stuff?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“And he believes you?” Basil added.</p><p>“Of course I do! What if he becomes a persona user like us?”</p><p>“He’s in middle school!” Aubrey yelled, “A middle schooler shouldn’t have to go through what we’re doing!”</p><p>Mikhael shrugged, “You never know. Plus, he likes the stories.” </p><p>“Whatever,” Aubrey shooed Mikhael away, “Go tell him about persona stuff. I doubt he <em> actually </em> believes it anyway.”</p><p>“I will, and he does!” Mikhael pouted as he stormed off. </p><p>“So…” Cris started, “Just the four of us then?” </p><p>“Seems like it… ” Basil said, “Are you two coming?”</p><p>Aubrey agreed and Sunny nodded. Cris led everyone to her house. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, right next to Kel’s house,” Aubrey said. </p><p>“Yup! C’mon in!” Cris opened the door and led everyone inside. “This is the living room. It’s kinda boring, so let's go to my room!”</p><p>The four walked up into Cris’s room. They all noticed the wall covered with photos of the ocean, some from the trip they had all gone on a week prior. </p><p>“Wow… You must <em> really </em> like the ocean,” Aubrey said.</p><p>“Yup! This one’s my favorite!” Cris pointed to a picture from the trip of her and Basil in front of the beach. She had her arms wrapped around Basil’s shoulders.</p><p>“Huh… any reason why that one’s your favorite?” Aubrey asked, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>“I just think it’s neat!” Cris smiled, “Basil printed all of these out just for me!” </p><p>“Uh-huh…” Aubrey turned to Sunny, who was enthralled by some figurines on the shelf.</p><p>“How did you get this!?” Sunny exclaimed, “This Spaceboy figure was only given away in a raffle back in 2004!”</p><p>“I sniped an auction online,” Cris explained. “Might have been a couple thousand dollars, but I still got it, so who really came out on top?” </p><p>“That’s amazing!” Sunny said.</p><p>“You spent that much on a toy?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“It’s not a toy! It’s a collectible!” Cris said. She turned to Sunny, “If you think that’s cool, I have more where that came from!” Cris opened her closet and started digging around for something. </p><p>Aubrey leaned into Sunny and whispered into his ear, “Hey, you think… Basil and Cris like each other?”</p><p>“Hmm…” Sunny scratched his chin.</p><p>“Yo Basil!” Aubrey called. Basil was standing next to Cris. Aubrey waved him over.</p><p>“What’s up?” Basil asked.</p><p>“You and Cris seem pretty tight.”</p><p>“Yeah? We’ve hung out quite a bit since we’ve met.”</p><p>“Do you… like her?” </p><p>“She’s pretty cool…”</p><p>“You know what I mean.”</p><p>Basil tilted his head, “You mean like… boyfriend and girlfriend stuff? Like how you like Sunny?”</p><p>Aubrey groaned, “Yes… like how I like Sunny…”</p><p>Basil blushed, “I… I dunno…”</p><p>“What if I asked her,” Aubrey smiled deviously, “Maybe it’ll be payback for that picture you took.” </p><p>“Please don’t do that! It was Kel’s idea, I swear!”</p><p>“Are you three talking about me?” Cris yelled from the other side of the room.</p><p>“Oh, we were just wondering…” Aubrey started.</p><p>“Please don’t do this!” Basil cried. </p><p>“...Do you like Basil?”</p><p>“Hmm…” Cris brought a hand to her chin, “Yeah, I do.”</p><p>“Wha-” Basil blushed harder.</p><p>“Yup, Basil is pretty cool,” Cris pulled out a box from her closet, “Anyways, check this out, Sunny!” She held the box in front of his face.</p><p>“No way!” Sunny gasped, “A factory-sealed Featherman pack!? With every character!?”</p><p>“Got that one last Christmas.” Cris smiled. </p><p>“That’s… that’s awesome!”</p><p>Basil turned to Aubrey, “Looks like your little plan failed…”</p><p>“Would you two stop talking about my crush on Basil!?” Cris yelled, “I’m trying to show Sunny, a fellow connoisseur, my cool figurines!” </p><p>“WHAT!” Basil exclaimed.</p><p>“Huh…” Aubrey put her hands on her hips.</p><p>“C-Cris! You…” Basil started.</p><p>“Well duh, of course, I like you!” Cris said.</p><p>“I-I… I d-don’t know what to say…” Basil flushed. </p><p>“What a turn of events…” Aubrey said.</p><p>“How about you look at my Frost Ace figurine! It’s pretty cool!” Cris held up another sealed box.</p><p>“W-wait! Cris! C-can we talk about this!?” Basil asked nervously.</p><p>“Of course!” Cris smiled, “Frost Ace is a-”</p><p>“Not that!” Basil waved his hands in the air, “T-the crush thing!”</p><p>“That’s not important right now! What’s important is my collectibles!”</p><p>“Um… it is to me!”</p><p>“If it’s sooooo important, we can talk about it later.”</p><p>“B-but Cris!”</p><p>“Shaddap, Bagel.”</p><p>“BAGEL?”</p><p>Aubrey’s eyes widened, “Already with the pet names…”</p><p>“My name is not Bagel!”</p><p>Cris smiled, “Whatever you say… Bagel.”</p><p>“Oh come on!” </p><p>The four enjoyed the rest of the day at Cris’s house. </p><p>******************</p><p>The evening eventually came, and everyone went home. Sunny and Aubrey walked Basil home, and then Sunny walked Aubrey home. </p><p>“Some celebration, huh,” Sunny said quietly. </p><p>“Yeah. Would’ve been cooler if we all got to hang out,” Aubrey shrugged, “Well, all that matters is that bastard is going away for a long time.”</p><p>“Good thing it happened now,” Sunny said, “Can you imagine having to balance all this <em> and </em> school?”</p><p>Aubrey chuckled, “That’d suck.”</p><p>“School starts in like two weeks, right?” </p><p>“Think so. Kim said we’d all be in the same class as last year too.”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“She said we were supposed to have King Mor-... Morooka again, meaning that we’d have the same people in the class.”</p><p>“How does that work?”</p><p>Aubrey shrugged, “I don’t make the rules. I’m guessing we’re gonna have the same students with a different teacher now, since Morooka kicked the bucket.”</p><p>“Interesting…”</p><p>The two eventually arrived at Aubrey’s house.</p><p>“Oh no…” Aubrey took a step back.</p><p>“Huh? What’s wrong?” Sunny asked.</p><p>Aubrey pointed at a blue car in her driveway, “He’s here…”</p><p>“He? Who’s he?”</p><p>“I-I don’t know his name,” Aubrey grabbed Sunny’s hand, “I can’t stay here. Please, can I spend the night at your place?”</p><p>“Aubrey…”</p><p>“Please!... Please…”</p><p>“<em>What will Ryotaro think? Is he even home right now? Surely he wouldn’t approve.</em>”</p><p>“Y-yeah… you can…”</p><p>Aubrey wrapped her arms around Sunny, “Thank you. Thank you so much.” She released Sunny and stepped towards her house. </p><p>“H-hey, where are you going?”</p><p>“I need to feed Bun-Bun and get some stuff. I’ll be quick.”</p><p>“But won’t that guy see you?”</p><p>“I’m gonna sneak in through my window, you’ll have to help me up.”</p><p>“Oh… okay… be careful…”</p><p>Sunny and Aubrey walked around to the back of her house. </p><p>“Alright, boost me up,” Aubrey said.</p><p>“I’m… not very strong…”</p><p>“Bullshit! I saw you beat up a shadow twice our size today.”</p><p>“It’s different when you have some angel guy giving you magical powers.”</p><p>“Yeah yeah, just help me up.”</p><p>Sunny helped push Aubrey up to reach her window and she was able to enter her room. Less than a minute later, she jumped back out.</p><p>“Whoa, you alright?”</p><p>“It’s fine, it’s not that big of a drop,” Aubrey held a bag in front of Sunny’s face, “Got my stuff, fed Bun-Bun, let’s get out of here!”</p><p>“Your stuff?”</p><p>“Pajamas, toothbrush, basically just stuff for sleeping. Now c’mon, I really don’t want to stay here.”</p><p>“Okay…”</p><p>******************</p><p>Sunny opened the door to his house.</p><p>“Hello?”</p><p>“Big Bro! You’re home” Nanako said happily. She ran up to Sunny and jumped into his arms. “Oh! Aubrey is here too!”</p><p>Aubrey waved at Nanako. </p><p>“She’s gonna stay here tonight,” Sunny said.</p><p>Nanako squinted, “Why?”</p><p>“Because… she can’t go home today…”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“Because… Um…” Sunny quickly tried to think of any excuse, “N-no one is home at her house, a-and… s-she d-didn’t wanna be alone… and stuff…”</p><p>“Hmm…” Nanako scratched her chin, “Okay then! I like sleepovers!”</p><p>“O-oh… c-cool… I mean… um… Is your dad home?”</p><p>“He called me earlier!” Nanako smiled, “He said that they caught a bad guy, so he has to work late tonight.”</p><p>“Caught a bad guy, huh?” Sunny looked to Aubrey.</p><p>“Wonder who helped with that.” She smirked.</p><p>“Yeah, so dad won’t be home until past bedtime,” Nanako explained. </p><p>“Oh… I’m sor-”</p><p>“But now you’re here! That makes everything better!” </p><p>“Oh. I’m… um, I’m glad you’re happy.”</p><p>******************</p><p>Sunny brought Aubrey to his room, and the night grew darker. They both got ready for bed.</p><p>“I’m gonna go to bed early tonight,” Sunny said, “I always feel sore and tired after exploring the TV world.”</p><p>“You are pushing yourself too hard in there, I knew it!” Aubrey scolded. </p><p>“It’s fine… I just…”</p><p>“No, it’s not. What if something happens to you!”</p><p>Sunny shook his head, “I’m… I’m sorry. I just don’t want any of you to get hurt…”</p><p>Aubrey sighed, “Well… just try to take it easy next time, okay?”</p><p>“But there won’t be a next time…” Sunny said, “We got the killer. This is all done… hopefully…” </p><p>“Oh… yeah… you’re right…” Aubrey laughed, “Guess we don’t need to worry about that anymore then, huh.”</p><p>Sunny laid down on his bed, and Aubrey laid down right next to him.</p><p>“I was hoping you’d do that,” Sunny said quietly.</p><p>Aubrey smiled, “Of course... Sunny-Bunny.”</p><p>“Now you’re using pet names too? Didn’t you yell at Cris for that?”</p><p>“What kind of stupid name is Bagel? I feel like I at least tried,” Aubrey wrapped her arms around Sunny, “Why, do you not like it?”</p><p>“No, it’s fine! I-I like it…”</p><p>“Good. I’ll call you that around Kim just to make her mad.”</p><p>Sunny chuckled, “She does hate cute stuff…”</p><p>The two lay there in silence for a moment.</p><p>“Hey…” Sunny said, “C-can I ask you something?”</p><p>“Hmm?”</p><p>“W-what happened earlier… Do you… Are you s-... What do you usually do when that guy shows up?”</p><p>“Stay at Kim’s place, sometimes Kel’s or Basil’s. One time I slept in the park.”</p><p>“T-that's… really not good…” Sunny felt a pain in his stomach, “I-I’m so sorry… I-I wish there was something I could do… to help…” </p><p>“You are helping. You said I could stay here.”</p><p>“I… um… I just hope everything’s okay…”</p><p>“Sometimes... I just wanna run away…”</p><p>“Run… away?”</p><p>“I mean... not like that!”</p><p>“You want to… run away?” Sunny’s eyes began to water. </p><p>“No! Not like that! I just mean from my mom! I don’t wanna-”</p><p>“What if something happens to you!? What about…” Sunny didn’t finish his sentence. </p><p>“That’s why I haven't done anything yet. I can’t just leave all my friends…”</p><p>“I’m… I’m… I’m so sorry…” Sunny buried his face in Aubrey’s shoulder, “I-I-I just wish I could help more…”</p><p>“I’m sorry, Sunny.”</p><p>“W-why?”</p><p>“I made you sad…”</p><p>“I-I just want you to be okay…” Sunny said, “P-please promise me you’ll… stay safe.”</p><p>“Only if you promise me the same thing,” Aubrey smiled. </p><p>“O-oh… okay…”</p><p>“I love you Sunny.”</p><p>“I love you too…”</p><p>Sunny slowly drifted to sleep in Aubrey’s arms.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I don't know if anyone else had this happen, but in 4th grade, my school had a teacher who transferred up to 5th grade and the class had all the same students. I don't know how common that is, but I don't want to separate the classes, so I did that.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Double Date</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As quickly as it arrived, Summer came to an end and school started back up. Sunny, Kel, Kim, Aubrey, and Basil all met up and walked to school together. </p>
<p>“Man, I can’t believe Summer break is ALREADY over!” Kel complained, “Didn’t it just start like a week ago?”</p>
<p>“Never again will I have a good night’s rest,” Kim sighed. </p>
<p>“At least since it’s almost fall, we’ll get to see the leaves turn to pretty colors,” Basil smiled.</p>
<p>“I mean, yeah, I guess... If you’re into that kind of thing…” Kim shrugged, “Personally, I’m a fan of not having to do school work.”</p>
<p>Sunny looked to Basil, “Are you in any clubs this year?”</p>
<p>“Just yearbook. Guess I’m taking it easy for senior year, huh…”</p>
<p>“Ain’t you just doing that to sneak more photos for your photo album?” Kel asked.</p>
<p>“Photo album?” Sunny tilted his head, “You’re making a new one?”</p>
<p>“Y-yeah. I was making it so we could remember our last years in school together. It was supposed to be a surprise, but someone,” Basil glared at Kel, “...had to spoil it.”</p>
<p>“I thought it was common knowledge,” Kel scratched the back of his neck.</p>
<p>“Also, no, I’m not just in it to take more pictures of all of you. I genuinely like photography,”</p>
<p>“Keyword ‘just’,” Aubrey muttered.</p>
<p>“Oh my gosh…” Basil put his head in his hands.</p>
<p>*************</p>
<p>Sunny, Kel, Kim, and Aubrey all sat in their classroom together, waiting for the teacher to arrive. They heard other students talking about what had happened to their old teacher.</p>
<p>“Did you hear he was hung from a telephone line?”</p>
<p>“I heard the person who did it went to our school!”</p>
<p>“Everyone had beef with King Moron, but I’d never think anyone would do something like that.”</p>
<p>“I heard our new teacher is some grandma.”</p>
<p>The door to the classroom opened, and a woman in a pink shirt and purple skirt walked in.</p>
<p>“Hello, class!” She said in a sultry voice, “My name is Noriko Kashiwagi, but you can call me Noriko!”</p>
<p>“I don’t like her…” Aubrey muttered. </p>
<p>“I hope we’ll have a wonderful year together!” Kashiwagi smiled, “I’m sure I will! Anyways, let’s rush through all the boring syllabus stuff so we can talk about my life!”</p>
<p>The teacher discussed all the standard school procedure stuff the students don’t care about. Eventually, the school day neared its ending.</p>
<p>Kashiwagi handed out papers to everyone, “Before you go, I’ve been instructed to tell you all about some trip you can go on. Apparently, this crappy little school somehow got enough money to go on a trip to Japan. Dunno how that happened. Anyways, get this paperwork done if you wanna go.”</p>
<p>The school bell rang and everybody started to leave.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wow! A school trip!” Kel said enthusiastically, “And to the other side of the planet? That’s crazy?”</p>
<p>“Surprised a school like this can even pay for something like that,” Kim shrugged.</p>
<p>“Japan, huh…” Sunny said quietly.</p>
<p>“Have you ever been there?” Kel asked.</p>
<p>“No, but Mari has. My family went before I was born, so…”</p>
<p>“This isn’t about the trip but,” Aubrey interrupted, “Some teacher, huh? Like, what’s her problem?”</p>
<p>“I don’t think she was following the dress code,” Sunny said.</p>
<p>Kim sighed, “She probably just wanted to show how voluptuous she was.”</p>
<p>“What does that have to do with clothes?” Kel asked.</p>
<p>“Kel, what does voluptuous mean?” Kim raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>“Great personality?”</p>
<p>Kim snorted, “Yup! That’s exactly what it means!” </p>
<p>“I thought so!” Kel smiled, “Kim, I think you’re very voluptuous!”</p>
<p>“Oh wow! I wasn’t expecting that… You know what? I’ll take that as a compliment.”</p>
<p>Aubrey shook her head, “Not what that means…”</p>
<p>“Then what <em> does </em> it mean?” Kel whined.</p>
<p>“Large breasts,” Sunny said under his breath.</p>
<p>“OH… oh…” Kel looked embarrassed, “Y-you know what? Let’s talk about something else.”</p>
<p>“Preferably,” Sunny said.</p>
<p>“Anyways, I had a really cool idea for something we should do!” Kel exclaimed.</p>
<p>“Kel? Cool idea? I highly doubt it,” Aubrey shook her head.</p>
<p>“No! It is a cool idea!” Kel told, “I was thinking, since Kim and I are dating and you two are dating, we should go on like a double date.”</p>
<p>“A double date?” Aubrey raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Kim nodded, “What were you thinking we’d do?”</p>
<p>“Dunno,” Kel shrugged, “What would you guys wanna do?”</p>
<p>“Not Ginos. It feels like we go there all the time,” Aubrey said.</p>
<p>“M-maybe we could go see a movie?” Sunny suggested, “There’s this one I’ve been wanting to see, it’s called <em> Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army </em>.”</p>
<p>“Oh! I wanna see that one too, but the only movie theater I know of is in Nearby City,” She looked to Aubrey, “Hey Aubs, maybe it’s time we put our skills to the test!”</p>
<p>“What skills?” Kel asked.</p>
<p>“Rude!” Aubrey yelled.</p>
<p>“You’ll see!” Kim said, “But we gotta go to my house first.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The four made their way to Kim’s house. Kim opened her garage door and they saw two motorcycles. </p>
<p>“We are gonna take you two on a ride.” Kim pointed at Sunny and Kel. </p>
<p>“Wait, you <em> both </em> know how to drive a motorcycle!?”</p>
<p>“Kim taught me a while ago,” Aubrey flashed her license, “She lets me use Vance’s bike since he never uses it anymore.”</p>
<p>“That’s awesome…” Sunny said.</p>
<p>“How far away is the city?” Kel asked, “I don’t wanna get home late and get yelled at again.”</p>
<p>“It’s about ten minutes away,” Kim said, “Depends on how fast we go.”</p>
<p>“P-please not too fast…” Sunny asked quietly.</p>
<p>“No promises,” Aubrey winked. </p>
<p>Kel and Kim got on her bike while Sunny and Aubrey got on Vance’s. </p>
<p>“Y-you’re not really gonna go too fast… right?” Sunny said nervously.</p>
<p>“But then how else are we gonna beat Kel and Kim there?” Aubrey pouted.</p>
<p>“Alive…”</p>
<p>“You scared?” Aubrey smiled deviously. </p>
<p>They heard Kim’s bike rev and saw her take off.</p>
<p>“We’ll see you all later,” She laughed as they drove off.</p>
<p>“Hold on tight!” Aubrey told. Sunny quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and they took off. Aubrey and Sunny eventually caught up to Kim and Kel. </p>
<p>“Hey Sun, wanna see me do a wheelie?” Aubrey asked.</p>
<p>“NO!” </p>
<p>“Alright! Here we go!” Aubrey brought the front of the bike off the ground. </p>
<p>“Oh god! Oh shit!” Sunny held Aubrey tighter and closed his eyes. </p>
<p>Aubrey passed by Kim and Kel and gave them the finger.</p>
<p>“Wha!” Kel’s eyes widened. Kim tried to keep herself from laughing. </p>
<p>“See you later, bitches!” Aubrey yelled as she sped off in front of them. </p>
<p>*************</p>
<p>They all arrived in Nearby City. Aubrey and Kim parked their bikes in front of the movie theater. </p>
<p>“Some stunt you pulled back there,” Kim laughed while taking her helmet off.</p>
<p>“I know right? Super badass!” Aubrey smiled.</p>
<p>“You sure that was safe?” Kel asked, “It looked kinda scary.”</p>
<p>“Nah, it’s all fine,” Aubrey looked to Sunny and smirked, “Although this guy was scared. You were holding on to me really tightly, weren’t you Sunny?”</p>
<p>“N-no, it was j-just the regular amount of tight… right?”</p>
<p>“You cursed! You almost never curse!” Aubrey laughed.</p>
<p>“Sunny cursed? Damn, I wish I could have heard it.” Kim said.</p>
<p>“C-can we just go see the movie?” Sunny pleaded. </p>
<p>“Yeah yeah, let’s go,” Aubrey said. Everyone entered the theater.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Four for Kuzunoha please,” Sunny slides his card through the window.</p>
<p>“Whoa whoa, you don’t gotta pay for all of us,” Kim said, “Kel can pay for mine, right Kel?”</p>
<p>“It’s fine, I don’t mind…” Sunny told</p>
<p>“Oh… well thanks then. I’ll make one of us pay you back.”</p>
<p>“You don’t have to do that.”</p>
<p>Kim crossed her arms, “Well… okay… But I’ll make Kel pay you back somehow!”</p>
<p>“Hey! Why me?” Kel whined.</p>
<p>“Guys, it’s only thirty dollars, it’s fine…”</p>
<p>Sunny gave everyone their tickets and they all looked for seats.</p>
<p>“So, are we all gonna sit together or…” Kim smirked, “Are we gonna sit apart in case an intense makeout session occurs.”</p>
<p>“You do know this is an action movie, right?” Aubrey raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>Sunny sighed, “Don’t be one of those couples who kiss in a theater…”</p>
<p>Kim shrugged, “Guess we’re all sitting together.”</p>
<p>“You sound disappointed,” Aubrey said, “Did you <em> really </em> wanna kiss Kel in a movie theater?” </p>
<p>“I-I was just joking!” Kim defended herself quickly, “Geez it’s no big deal! Like, let’s just watch the movie, my guy…” </p>
<p>The group sat through a bunch of trailers for movies nobody cared about. The movie eventually started. It followed a detective with the ability to summon demons. What started out as a simple missing person case escalated to him having to battle against a soulless god. </p>
<p>*************</p>
<p>Two hours later, the credits rolled and they all left the theater.</p>
<p>“That was a pretty cool movie!” Kel gave a thumbs up, “That guy was kind of like us too! It’s like he could summon a persona in real life!”</p>
<p>“I don’t think those were persona…” Sunny shook his head.</p>
<p>“Yo! What if I can summon a persona in real life!” Kel jumped up and down.</p>
<p>“Please don’t…” Aubrey sighed.</p>
<p>“Come to me, PERSONA!” Kel yelled. Nothing happened.</p>
<p>“You look like an idiot,” Kim chuckled. </p>
<p>“Dang… didn’t work,” Kel shrugged, “Oh well, maybe next time.”</p>
<p>“Hey… You guys hungry?” Sunny asked, “I-I saw a restaurant on the way here, It should be within walking distance…”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I could eat… It is around that time.” Kim said.</p>
<p>“What kind of restaurant?” Aubrey asked.</p>
<p>“Um… it was an Italian place I think…”</p>
<p>“Sounds cool, lead the way!” Kim told. </p>
<p>Sunny led everyone to the restaurant he found. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Geez, Sun, This place looks kinda expensive,” Kim said.</p>
<p>“It’s fine, I can pay for it.”</p>
<p>“Wow… you must be loaded,”</p>
<p>“Well, I do sell all that stuff we find in the TV world,” Sunny explained, “It does earn me a bit of money…”</p>
<p>“Wait, you sell that stuff?” Kel asked, “I’ve just been keeping everything I pick up in a drawer.”</p>
<p>“Maybe you should start selling it then,” Kim smiled, “Then you can have enough money to buy me stuff!”</p>
<p>A waiter showed up and got Sunny and his friends seated. He placed a basket of bread on the table.</p>
<p>“Ooh! Bread!” Kel exclaimed as he quickly reached out to grab a piece.</p>
<p>“Can I start you off with some drinks?” The waiter asked.</p>
<p>“Orange Joe please!” Kel said with his mouth full.</p>
<p>“Rude…” Kim shook her head, “Can I have a 1UP please?”</p>
<p>“Dr. Salt,” Aubrey said.</p>
<p>“Can I just have water?” Sunny asked. </p>
<p>The waiter left with their orders. Sunny opened up the menu and began scanning it for something he liked.</p>
<p>Aubrey put her head on Sunny’s shoulder, “What are you getting? I might copy off of you…”</p>
<p>“Dunno yet…”</p>
<p>“Oh my god, stop with the cutesy shit.” Kim groaned. </p>
<p>Aubrey lifted her head up, “What do you have against cute stuff?”</p>
<p>“It’s just so annoying, like how is this not annoying to you?” Kim wrapped her arms around Kel’s “Oh Kel! Oh my Kelsey-welsey! My Kelsey-poo! I wuv you soooooo much!” She said in a mocking tone.</p>
<p>“Kim, can you stop rubbing your boobs on my arm? I would like to grab another piece of bread.”</p>
<p>“KEL! You… I… You’re the worst!”</p>
<p>Aubrey chuckled, “Only Kel would say something like that.”</p>
<p>“He did call her ‘voluptuous’ earlier today,” Sunny added.</p>
<p>“Hey guys, crazy idea,” Kim said, “Let’s talk about something, ANYTHING, other than my tits, okay? Okay!”  </p>
<p>“Ooh! Let’s talk about this!” Kel pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.</p>
<p>“The Japan trip?” Aubrey said.</p>
<p>“Where in Japan are we even going?” Sunny asked.</p>
<p>“It says someplace called Tatsumi Port Island,” Kel read from the paper, “It also says that if we have a family member chaperone, they can choose groups of people to walk over!”</p>
<p>“So there are groups, and we might not even be in the same one?” Aubrey asked.</p>
<p>“Actually, Hero’s an adult, so I was thinking…” Kel started, “... What if I asked him to be our chaperone! That way, the four of us, Basil, Cris, and Mikhael could all be in a group together!”</p>
<p>“That's… not actually a bad idea,” Aubrey said, “I’m impressed.”</p>
<p>“Also!” Kel added, “Sunny knows Japanese, so we could basically do whatever we want! He can take us to cool places!”</p>
<p>“I’ve never been there before, I don’t know where anything is…” Sunny said.</p>
<p>“But, you can read signs and stuff,” Kel explained, “That means if you see something cool, you can take us there!”</p>
<p>“I see…” Sunny shook his head, “So you’re just using me?”</p>
<p>“No no no!” Kel shook his arms.</p>
<p>“Like a tool,” Kim joked. </p>
<p>“No, I was just thinking of all the cool stuff we could do together since Sunny can actually understand the language,” Kel explained.</p>
<p>“When even is this trip?” Aubrey asked. </p>
<p>“Umm…” Kel scanned the paper, “It says August 29th to September 2nd.”</p>
<p>“So less than a month,” Aubrey slid her form over to Kim, “Wanna forge a signature for me, ‘mom’?”</p>
<p>“You know it!” Kim pulled a pen out of her pocket.</p>
<p>“Whoa, isn’t that illegal?” Kel asked.</p>
<p>“We’ve been doing this for like three years now,” Kim explained, “I pretty much got her mom’s signature down now.” </p>
<p>“That didn’t answer my question,” Kel said.</p>
<p>“It’s not illegal if you don’t get caught!” Kim winked. </p>
<p>The four all ate their dinner together. After they finished, Aubrey and Kim drove the boys home. </p>
<p>*************</p>
<p>Sunny, Kel, Aubrey, and Kim all stood in front of Kel’s house.</p>
<p>“See, wasn’t that fun?” Kel asked.</p>
<p>“Yeah… I guess it was,” Aubrey said reluctantly.</p>
<p>“We should totally do it again sometime!” Kel gave a thumbs up.</p>
<p>Sunny looked over to his old house. He found two people standing in front of their door. An old woman and a small child. They both appeared to be watching Sunny and his friends.</p>
<p>“Hey,” Sunny said, “You think they’re the ones who live there?”</p>
<p>“I’d assume so,” Kim shrugged.</p>
<p>“I saw an old guy there before, maybe that’s his wife and their grandson?” Aubrey wondered.</p>
<p>“Maybe we should go talk to them!” Kel suggested, “The way Mikhael explained it, they probably know a lot about persona stuff, or at least one of them does.”</p>
<p>The group saw the younger boy whisper something into the older woman’s ear. The two went back inside their house.</p>
<p>“If we talk to them, we should call Basil, Cris, and Mikhael over as well,” Sunny said, “They’re part of this too.”</p>
<p>“That’s true,” Kel agreed, “I’ll invite them over right now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Basil, Cris, and Mikhael arrived at Kel’s house. They all walked over to Sunny’s old house and stood in front of the door. Sunny raised his hand to knock but stopped himself.</p>
<p>“What are we even going to say?” he asked, “C-can we really come out and ask about personas?”</p>
<p>“That man seemed very knowledgeable,” Mikhael explained, “It’ll be fine.”</p>
<p>“O-okay…” Sunny knocked on the door. A blond man with a red and blue eye greeted them.</p>
<p>“Ahh, I’ve been expecting you,” The man spoke. His voice was low, yet powerful. </p>
<p>“A-are you… um… Louis? Louis Cyphre?” Sunny asked.</p>
<p>“Yes, that is what I am called,” The man said, “Please enter… persona users.”</p>
<p>“He knows…” Basil shuttered. </p>
<p>Louis Cyphre ushered everyone inside. Sunny observed his old house. There wasn’t a lot of furniture, reminding him of what it looked like just before he moved. The walls had been painted red, and many strange artifacts were hung up. In the middle of the room was one large, almost throne-like chair. </p>
<p>Louis Cyphre sat down, “I am assuming you are here to learn the truth.”</p>
<p>“Not really,” Cris said, “We caught our guy, we just wanna know about persona stuff!”</p>
<p>“Really?” Louis Cyphre raised an eyebrow, “So you stopped the impending ruin?” </p>
<p>“Impending… ruin?” Sunny tilted his head.</p>
<p>“You are still far from your truth, and I can ‘spark’ your investigation once more.”</p>
<p>“What are you even talking about!?” Aubrey yelled.</p>
<p>Louis Cyphre put his hands together, “I simply wish to inform you. However, nothing in life is free. If anyone tells you otherwise, they’re fighting a losing battle.”</p>
<p>“So we have to pay you?” Kel asked.</p>
<p>“I don’t need money. I only require a promise...” Louis Cyphre pointed at Sunny, “... from you.”</p>
<p>“M-me?” Sunny asked.</p>
<p>“Yes… we will get to that after I tell you everything you need to know. Will you accept this offer?” </p>
<p>“Oh... O-okay?”</p>
<p>“Sunny, wait!” Basil interrupted, “A-are you sure this is okay? This seems kind of scary.”</p>
<p>Sunny shook his head, “This all seems scary, but it also seems important. I… I think I have to do this…”</p>
<p>“Splendid,” Louis Cyphre crossed his arms, “Now, what do you desire to know?” </p>
<p>“A-anything really…” Sunny said, “Like, why us? Why do we have this power?” </p>
<p>“So you wish to know the origin of your powers?” Louis Cyphre asked. “Very well… There are four people in this town who were granted power by one other than themself. Mikhael Baker, I gave you your power.”</p>
<p>“Yes, I remember,” Mikhael said, “But you made me forget you gave it to me!”</p>
<p>“Sunny Narukami,” Louis Cyphre continued, “You faced your shadow a year ago, making you a prime candidate for this power. A man named Philemon decided you were perfect for this role.”</p>
<p>“Philemon?” Sunny wondered, “Where have I heard this name before?” </p>
<p>“Everyone else here gained their power from facing their own shadow,” Louis Cyphre explained, “That leaves two others. The ones you are searching for.”</p>
<p>“You mean… the culprit?” Kim asked.</p>
<p>“Precisely. One man was given his powers by (incomprehensible).” </p>
<p>“Um… excuse me?” Sunny said.</p>
<p>“Oh, pardon me,” Louis Cyphre apologized, “I should not have expected mere children to be able to understand the name of The Great Will.”</p>
<p>“The… Great Will?” Aubrey wondered.</p>
<p>“This man and his puppet are the ones you search for,” Louis Cyphre explained.</p>
<p>“Who are they!?” Kim blurted.</p>
<p>Louis Cyphre shook his head, “That, I can not tell. You must find that truth on your own.”</p>
<p>“Oh my god!” Kim threw her hands into the air.</p>
<p>“Now… there is one more truth I must tell you… about the bringer of ruin,” Louis Cyphre said, “However… This truth will be painful… especially to you, Sunny Narukami.”</p>
<p>“W-what?” Sunny took a step back.</p>
<p>“I will give you but one warning. Do you wish to hear this truth, or do you wish to run away?”</p>
<p>“I… um,” Sunny looked to his feet, “I don’t want to run away. I’m done running away.”</p>
<p>“Very well…” Louis Cyphre stood up. He walked to the back door, “Please, observe with me.”</p>
<p>Sunny and his friends walked up behind him. They all looked out to the tree stump. The tree that brought about the darkest of memories. It looked exactly like how they left it. The only difference was there was a fence around it.</p>
<p>“You… you kept our pinwheels there…” Aubrey said quietly.</p>
<p>“I do not wish to disturb this site,” Louis Cyphre turned to Sunny, “You remember this place very well, do you not.”</p>
<p>Sunny nodded slowly.</p>
<p>“What happened here?” Kim asked.</p>
<p>“Sunny Narukami. On that day, five years ago, Something was born,” Louis Cyphre said.</p>
<p>“S-something?” Sunny shuttered.</p>
<p>“Oh no…” Basil whimpered.</p>
<p>“Yes…” Louis Cyphre continued, “The one you have dubbed Something… The bringer of ruin…”</p>
<p>“No…” Sunny fell to his knees.</p>
<p>“The fear… The dread… The guilt… The pain you felt… The prime condition for Something to bore itself into your soul. </p>
<p>“T-this can’t be…” Sunny cried.</p>
<p>“Your shadow, the one you dubbed Omori, fought valiantly against Something.”</p>
<p>“Omori? Like the brand?” Kel asked.</p>
<p>“Wasn’t that the type of piano that Mari had?” Aubrey added.</p>
<p>“Omori tried to do whatever he could to vanquish Something,” Louis Cyphre looked to Sunny, “Meaning… he tried to end your life. If you would have died, Something would have died too.”</p>
<p>“No… p-please… no…” Sunny shivered.</p>
<p>“If Omori took your life… The ruin would have been prevented.” </p>
<p>“NO!” Sunny yelled, “This can't… I… I… I should have died? I should have died!” </p>
<p>“Alright, asshole, I’m sick of this!” Aubrey yelled, “You’re telling me that Sunny should die?”</p>
<p>“I don’t care what you say!” Kel pointed at Louis Cyphre, “Sunny dying means none of this ‘ruin’ you talk about would happen? I don’t care! Honestly, a world without Sunny isn’t a world worth living in!”</p>
<p>Kim stepped in, “Yeah! I don’t know what all this Something and Omori crap is, but Sunny is my friend! I won’t allow you to say he should die!”</p>
<p>“<em>Everyone… standing up for me? No… I should have died… I ruin everything…</em>”</p>
<p>Louis Cyphre shook his head, “You deny the truth. Have you learned nothing?”</p>
<p>Basil stepped in front of Louis Cyphre, “What you’re saying can’t be true! I know about Something too, I saw it disappear!”</p>
<p>“You had Something too, did you not?” Louis Cyphre asked. </p>
<p>“That’s right! I did!” Basil yelled, “And you know what? Mine disappeared too!”</p>
<p>Louis Cyphre shook his head, “Yes, Something tried to use you as a host. However, Sunny was found to be a much more suitable host. This is why his soul is used as a vessel for the ruin.”</p>
<p>“You know what? YOU KNOW WHAT!?” Basil raged, “Fuck you! What I’m hearing from you is that you just want Sunny to die! Sunny is my best friend! Anybody who wants to hurt him is my enemy!”</p>
<p>“So you believe yourself to be your own enemy?”</p>
<p>“SHUT UP!” Basil screamed. </p>
<p>“I am done with you!” Aubrey grit her teeth, “You’re just begging for an ass-kicking!” Aubrey threw a punch at Louis Cyphre. He calmly grabbed Aubrey’s hand before he could be hit.</p>
<p>“You do not wish to fight me,” He pushed Aubrey away from himself, “All of you are too brash. If you keep this up, you’ll never hear how to stop the ruin.”</p>
<p>“We are not killing Sunny!” Mikhael yelled.</p>
<p>“There is another way,” Louis Cyphre looked to Sunny, “Boy… I do not wish you harm. I am simply here as guidance. I must tell you your truth.”</p>
<p>Sunny stood up. There were tears in his eye. “I… should I die?”</p>
<p>“No!” All of Sunny’s friends yelled simultaneously.</p>
<p>“You may live and prevent the ruin,” Louis Cyphre told, “However, to attain this, You must find the true villain of your story.”</p>
<p>“But we got him!” Cris said.</p>
<p>“Mitsuo Kubo was a façade created by the real culprit, the one who wishes to bring about the ruin. If you wish to prevent the ruin, you must stop this man.” Louis Cyphre said. </p>
<p>“Why don’t you just tell us who this guy is then?” Cris complained.</p>
<p>“I am but an observer, guidance to you all. I am not one to get involved in this.”</p>
<p>“How can we even trust you!?” Basil asked.</p>
<p>Louis Cyphre shook his head, “Let's say… I have worked with persona users in the past.”</p>
<p>“Really? Name two!” Kim said sarcastically.</p>
<p>“Naoya Toudou and Tatsuya Suou.” </p>
<p>“Hmph,” Kim crossed her arms. </p>
<p>“How do you even know all this stuff!?” Aubrey asked.</p>
<p>“How I acquire my knowledge is not important. What’s important is how you choose to interpret it.” Louis Cyphre looked to Sunny, “Now… I believe it’s time for you to honor your end of the deal.”</p>
<p>Aubrey stood in front of him, “You better not try anything funny!”</p>
<p>“I only wish to ask him something,” Louis Cyphre pushed Aubrey aside and looked into Sunny’s eye, “Sunny Narukami, the Wild Card chosen by Philemon, promise me this,”</p>
<p>“What,” Sunny whimpered. </p>
<p>“The world out there is a cruel place. Turn your back on it. Only listen to those you care about. Only listen to those you love… the ones who stand around you.</p>
<p>“H-huh?” Sunny whimpered.</p>
<p>“Your friends are the ones who will guide you to your truth. Hold them dear, and never let go.”</p>
<p>“Oh… okay…” Sunny nodded.</p>
<p>“Good…” Louis Cyphre pointed to the door, “Now, all of you, leave this place. I have no more information for you at this time.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Everyone left the house. They all stood in the driveway.</p>
<p>“Sunny… H-how are you feeling?” Basil asked.</p>
<p>“I… I should have… I should…”</p>
<p>“Sunny! Don’t say that!” Kel yelled, “Listen, man, we’re all gonna get through this together!”</p>
<p>“But I should! I’m a horrible person! I killed my sister! And now… some ‘ruin’ is going to come because of me!” Sunny broke down crying.</p>
<p>“O-oh…” Kim muttered.</p>
<p>“That… um… I-I’m so sorry.” Cris said quietly. </p>
<p>“I’m a monster!” Sunny punched the ground.</p>
<p>“Sunny…” Aubrey knelt down beside him, “You’re not a monster. A real monster would never say that they are…”</p>
<p>Basil joined in, “No matter what, we’re not gonna let you die. We’re all here for you.”</p>
<p>Kel gave a thumb’s up, “I’ll always have your back! No matter what, I’ll always stay at your side.”</p>
<p>“Listen, I know you’ve been through a lot,” Kim said, “I don’t really know all of what happened, but… You’re my friend, you know? I don’t care what some creepy guy says, I won’t let you die. I’ll change fate if I have to…”</p>
<p>“I don’t really know what to say, but…” Mikhael started, “...I-I… You’re my friend too… I’m not really good with this emotional stuff… but… You’re a really cool kid. I’ll beat up anyone who tries to hurt you.”</p>
<p>“We haven't really known each other for a long time, but I don’t think you’re a bad person,” Cris said, “From what I know of you… You’re a kind person, and I don’t think you’d ever purposely do anything bad…”</p>
<p>“I-I… I don’t know what to say…” Sunny shook his head.</p>
<p>“How about, ‘Wow, I have such great friends, especially my old pal, Kimberly!’” Kim joked. </p>
<p>“We all love you, Sunny,” Aubrey hugged him, “I love you… As Kel said, a world without you isn’t a world I want to live in…” Basil and Kel also joined in the hug.</p>
<p>“Group hug, huh?” Kim shrugged, “Normally, I’m not a fan of group hugs, but I’ll make an exception. Just this once,” Kim joined in on the hug, as well as Cris and Mikhael.</p>
<p>“I… I love you all too…” Sunny said.</p>
<p>“So you better not go dying on us,” Aubrey lightly punched Sunny in the shoulder.</p>
<p>“Yeah! We’re gonna get through this together!” Kel said.</p>
<p>“Heh… yeah… thanks, guys…” Sunny smiled. </p>
<p>*************</p>
<p>Sunny drifted to sleep in his bed. He opened his eyes and found himself on a familiar island.</p>
<p>“Abbi!? Are you here?” He yelled.</p>
<p>“Oh? You wanna see me? I’m flattered!” A voice behind Sunny spoke. He turned to find Abbi standing there.</p>
<p>“You!” He said angrily.</p>
<p>“What an interesting day!” Abbi smiled, “You got to go on a date with Aubrey! Wasn’t that fun!” </p>
<p>“You say you know everything I know, so that means you know exactly what I want to talk about!” </p>
<p>“Oh! Someone seems mad!”</p>
<p>“You live in my brain, so you must know! Is Something still around.”</p>
<p>“Now Sunny, you know I see all those nasty things you think about. However, I can confirm that I have not seen Something, nor Omori.”</p>
<p>“But… but… You’re the only lead I have on any of this…” Sunny sighed, “Now what am I gonna do…” He sat down on the ground.</p>
<p>Abbi threw her head onto Sunny’s lap, “Awww. Poor little Sunny.”</p>
<p>“You’re not helping…”</p>
<p>Abbi put her hand on Sunny’s chin, “You know, maybe you should just take that man’s advice!”</p>
<p>“Being?”</p>
<p>“Catch the guy who wants to bring the ruin, and make him stop it!”</p>
<p>“But… what would I do?”</p>
<p>“Who knows! If I were you, which I kinda am, I’d just beat the crap out of him!”</p>
<p>“Guess that’s always an option…” Sunny sighed.</p>
<p>“You know, I think you should be thinking about happy things right now?”</p>
<p>“Huh?”</p>
<p>“You have wonderful friends, the girlfriend of your dreams, a loving family,” Abbi told, “You should be thinking about how much everyone cares about you!”</p>
<p>“Y-yeah… that’s right…”</p>
<p>“So you better not go dying! Not just because I live in your brain and I’d die too, but because there are so many people who care about you!” </p>
<p>“You’d die too?”</p>
<p>“...”</p>
<p>“Hmm…”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>What? You thought Dante was going to be in this one? Sorry, you don't have the Maniax version. Instead, you get "Featuring Raidou Kuzunoha from the SMT: Devil Summoner series.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sorry...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Japan Trip</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sunny and all his friends ate lunch together on the school roof. They discussed their school’s upcoming trip to Japan.</p><p>“Looks like on the first day, we have to go to some school,” Mikhael read from the permission slip.</p><p>“Apparently it’s called Gekkoukan High,” Sunny added. </p><p>“So as soon as we get there, we gotta do boring crap,” Kim sighed. </p><p>“It’ll take a day to get there and a day to fly back,” Sunny explained, “That means we’ll have one day touring this school and one day to do whatever we want.”</p><p>“That’s such a waste!” Kel threw his hands in the air, “We’re only really there for two days!”</p><p>“Maybe we should be glad to go at all,” Basil said, “I doubt a trip to the other side of the world would be cheap.”</p><p>“I don’t really care how long we’re there, I’m super excited!” Cris smiled, “Especially since Hero is gonna be our chaperone and we’ll all be able to hang out together!” </p><p>“Summer is pretty much over, I kinda thought Hero would have gone back to college by now…” Aubrey said.</p><p>“He told me why he doesn’t have to go back until like November” Kel explained, “It was something about his school getting ready for something. I don’t really remember.”</p><p>“It’s cool that he gets to stay here longer though,” Kim shrugged.</p><p>“So, you all are gonna stay at my house tonight so we can leave for the airport together, right?” Kel asked.</p><p>“I know I am,” Basil said, “Polly said it was okay, but I’ll have to stop by my house to get my stuff.”</p><p>“I think we’ll all have to do that,” Aubrey shook her head. </p><p>“Well… yeah… I mean, I don’t think any of us brought a suitcase to school…” Basil said.</p><p>“Wait, you didn’t bring your luggage to school!?” Cris looked shocked.</p><p>“You did?” Kim raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Of course! My stuff is in my locker!” </p><p>“That’s… okay then…” Aubrey shook her head. </p><p>“Anyways…” Kel interrupted, “... I was thinking we could all spend the night watching movies or playing games together!”</p><p>“Kel, we have to wake up at 3 AM,” Kim groaned. </p><p>“But I wanna do fun stuff!” Kel whined.</p><p>“Kel… Sleep is one of my favorite things on the planet. That’s a fun thing I’d like to do.”</p><p>“Fine. But everyone else is gonna party with me, right guys?” Kel asked.</p><p>“Kim is right,” Sunny said, “We’re leaving at three. If anything, we should all go to bed early.”</p><p>Kel crossed his arms, “You’re no fun.”</p><p>“Honestly, I feel like you’d be the first to fall asleep anyways,” Aubrey said. </p><p>The school bell rang, and everybody had to go back to their classes. </p><p>“Damn, I didn’t finish my food,” Kim sighed. </p><p>“We’ll see you later,” Kel waved at Basil, Cris, and Mikhael. Sunny, Kel, Aubrey, and Kim all went back to their classroom. </p><p>*****************</p><p>The school day ended and everyone went home to pack their stuff. Sunny arrived at Kel’s house. He knocked on the door and Hero, who was holding Sally, opened it.</p><p>“Oh! Hello, Sunny!” Hero greeted, “Come on in!”</p><p>“Sunny!” Sally babbled. </p><p>“Oh, okay. H-hi Sally.” Sunny said.</p><p>“Sunny Sunny Sunny!” Sally continued.</p><p>“Looks like someone’s happy to see you,” Hero chuckled, “Cris and Kim are already here, everyone’s up in Kel’s room.”</p><p>Sunny walked up into Kel’s room.</p><p>“Yo, Sunny!” Kel waved. </p><p>“H-hey guys…” Sunny waved back. </p><p>“Aubrey and Basil should be on their way,” Kim said without looking up from her phone, “No clue where Mikhael is.”</p><p>Someone kicked the door open, “Are you spreading rumors about me!?”</p><p>“Hey! Don’t kick my door!” Kel yelled.</p><p>“How else am I supposed to make my grand entrance?” Mikhael asked.</p><p>“Dude! I’ll be the one that gets in trouble if anything breaks!”</p><p>“Yeah yeah, whatever. Say, what games you got?” Mikhael walked towards Kel’s game console. </p><p>Soon after, Basil and Aubrey arrived at Kel’s house. Everyone hung out in Kel’s room. </p><p>“H-hey, Sunny,” Basil motioned Sunny over to him.</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“C-can you help me out with something?” Basil’s voice was slightly above a whisper. </p><p>“What’s wrong?”</p><p>Basil waved his hands in front of him, “Oh no, nothing is wrong! It’s just…” He looked at Cris, “She’s really excited about this trip. I wanna get her a souvenir or something when we're there, but I don’t know what to get. She likes all this anime stuff and I don’t really understand most of it…”</p><p>“So you want me to help you choose something?” </p><p>“Pretty much… I don’t wanna get something she hates and then she tells me it’s from a ‘trash anime’.”</p><p>“Well… I feel like… You should just get her whatever you think would make her happy.”</p><p>“Hmm…” Basil scratched his chin.</p><p>“It sounds kinda cliche, but you just gotta do what your heart tells you to,” Sunny told, “I mean… That’s what I do when I get stuff for Aubrey.”</p><p>“You’ve known her for much longer than I’ve known Cris though.”</p><p>Aubrey walked over to them, “I heard my name.”</p><p>“Basil wants to get Cris a gift,” Sunny said.</p><p>“Just get her something involving the ocean,” Aubrey shrugged, “We all know how much she loves that.”</p><p>“Maybe… Guess I’ll have to wait and see, huh?” Basil said.</p><p>*****************</p><p>“All right everyone, we’re all going to bed right now!” Hero told.</p><p>“Aww c'mon,” Kel complained, “It’s only nine!”</p><p>“If you were the one driving, you could choose the bedtime, but you’re not driving, I am.” Hero said.</p><p>“That’s not fair!” </p><p>“I’m calling Kel’s bed!” Kim threw herself on the bed. She reached behind her back and picked up a chip, “Were you eating in bed? That’s disgusting!” </p><p>“Man’s gotta eat!” Kel took the chip out of Kim’s hand and threw it in his mouth.</p><p>“That’s even more disgusting! Do you even know how long that’s been there!?”</p><p>“Well, you know what I always say! No food left behind!”</p><p>“I have literally never heard you say that,” Aubrey groaned. </p><p>“He says it when he drops food on the floor,” Hero explained, “Now go to bed everyone. And Kel, no yelling random words!”</p><p>“Yelling random words?” Kim wondered, “You mean like how little kids do during sleepovers.”</p><p>“When we were like nine, Kel would like to yell ‘penis’ when we had a sleepover,” Basil explained.</p><p>“To be fair… it was pretty funny…” Sunny said quietly. </p><p>“We were stupid kids…” Aubrey shook her head.</p><p>“It was especially weird when Aubrey asked what that was,” Hero added.</p><p>“H-hey! You don’t gotta bring that up!” Aubrey yelled.</p><p>“I will, however, bring up that we have to leave at three in the morning,” Hero said, “So go to sleep!” </p><p>“Ugh, fine…” Kel lied down and immediately started snoring. </p><p>“That was fast,” Kim said</p><p>“You get used to it…” Aubrey told.</p><p>“And to think he wanted to stay up all night,” Basil shrugged. </p><p>*****************</p><p>To everyone’s displeasure, they all woke up at three in the morning. Hero drove them to the airport where they met up with everyone else going on the school trip. Everyone went through security and waited for the plane to arrive. </p><p>“Why do we gotta wait so long!?” Kel complained, “Like, it’s 4:30 right now, and the plane arrives at six! Why did we have to leave so early?”</p><p>“It’s better to be early than late,” Hero explained, “What if there was traffic and we left late? We wouldn’t have made it then.”</p><p>“You’re just saying what mom says when we fly somewhere.”</p><p>“It’s almost like she knows what she’s doing.” Hero shrugged. </p><p>“Can you believe they made me take off my wi- I mean my real hair!?” Mikhael groaned, “That should be illegal. T.S.A? More like A.S.S!”</p><p>“Good one,” Cris said sarcastically.</p><p>“You know, I made a tragic discovery last night,” Mikhael said</p><p>“And what’s that?” Kim asked.</p><p>“You see, Kel and Kim were sleeping next to each other. Sunny and Aubrey were sleeping next to each other. Basil was pretty much sleeping in Cris’s lap!” Mikhael threw his hands in the air, “I’m the only single one! This is truly the worst possible outcome!”</p><p>“That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard,” Cris mock cried. </p><p>“I know right!? I should have been the first one to go on a date!”</p><p>“Well technically, you have gone on dates before any of us,” Aubrey smiled deviously, “You just had to pay them.”</p><p>“This truly says a lot about our society!” Mikhael shook his head.</p><p>Kim snorted, “I don’t think it does.” </p><p>*****************</p><p>After even more waiting, the plane finally arrived and was accepting boarding. Sunny sat at the window seat next to Aubrey, who sat next to Kim. In front of them sat Cris, Basil, and Mikhael. In front of them sat Hero and Kel. Kel immediately fell asleep before the plane even took off. </p><p>“H-have any of you been on a plane before?” Basil asked. </p><p>“I have,” Cris said, “When I was in boarding school, we had to fly to an island to get there. People think I’m weird when I say I love flying on a plane!”</p><p>“Kel and I have flown before,” Hero told, “A couple of times actually. We have to fly to go visit family.”</p><p>“Why do you ask?” Cris asked, “You scared?”</p><p>“N-no… maybe… I’ve never flown before…” Basil shivered.</p><p>“It’ll be fine,” Kim said nonchalantly, “Especially since I can do this!” She kicked the back of Mikhael’s chair.</p><p>“Hey! Cut that out!”</p><p>Kim laughed, “I’m gonna enjoy doing this for fourteen hours!” </p><p>“You better not!” Mikhael yelled, “I’ll throw you off this plane!”</p><p>“Not if I throw you off first!” Kim taunted</p><p>“Oh yeah?! Well, I’ll fly back up and throw YOU off!”</p><p>“You’ll fly back up?” Kim raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Yeah! I’ll flap my arms like wings and fly back up, just to throw you out of here!”</p><p>“Flap your arms like wings?” Sunny looked at Mikhael, “Heh… snrk… ahahahah!” </p><p>“Whoa, Sunny laughing?” Kim said.</p><p>“I-I can’t… I imagined it and… Hahaha!” Sunny almost fell over in his seat laughing.</p><p>Aubrey blushed, “Wow… I’ve never seen Sunny laugh like this before.”</p><p>“Oh my god, that is so cute I’m gonna vomit,” Kim said.</p><p>“I-I-I can’t…” Sunny put his head on Aubrey’s shoulder, “I’m gonna sleep now… and dream about flying Mikhael…”</p><p>“It wasn’t that funny…” Mikhael slouched in his chair, hiding from the row behind him.</p><p>“Oh? You’re using my shoulder as a pillow?” Aubrey smiled, “In that case, I’ll use your head as a pillow.” Aubrey laid her head on Sunny’s.</p><p>“Blegh,” Kim stuck her tongue out. “I’m just gonna sleep like a normal person.” She pulled the tray down and laid her head on it. </p><p> </p><p>Sunny drifted to sleep and found himself once again on an island. Abbi’s domain.  </p><p>“Abbi are you here?” Sunny called out, “If you are, don’t sneak up on me!” </p><p>“Aww, but where’s the fun in that?” Sunny turned around and found Abbi standing there.</p><p>“Hello… Abbi…”</p><p>“Yes, hello Sunny! Welcome to Whitespace! You’ve been here for as long as- Ah! Only joking! Whitespace is gone-zo! Now some blue place is where it used to be!”</p><p>“Of course it is… Hey Abbi, I still wanted to talk to you about something.”</p><p>“You fear me, do you not?” Abbi asked.</p><p>“I just find this all… very interesting..:” Sunny said, “I find out that Something is some super demon and Omori tried to kill it by killing me.”</p><p>“Do you want me to want you to die?” Abbi shrugged.</p><p>“Well… no… but I… Omori DID lock you away in Abyss…”</p><p>Abbi frowned, “You hate me, don’t you?”</p><p>“I don’t hate you… I just… What <em> are </em> you?” </p><p>“I’m your imaginary friend! I’m here to help you be happy!” </p><p>“Yeah, but why?” </p><p>Abbi shook her head, “I don’t know… I don’t even know if I’m alive.” She put her hand on Sunny’s shoulder, “But I do know this… No matter what, I wish for your happiness.” </p><p>Sunny shook his head, “I’m… I’m just so confused…”</p><p>“One other thing,” Abbi added, “I’ve actually done some searching around for anything odd here. Something like… Well, Something.”</p><p>“You have?” Sunny looked around him, “But everything’s water…”</p><p>“Then it’s a good thing you imagined me as a sexy squid girl!... I’d wink if I had eyes.”</p><p>“O-oh…” Sunny’s face turned red. </p><p>“Yup! Real good thing you got some weird love for squid girls, so I can swim around! You really like-”</p><p>“That’s enough.” Sunny started to pinch his cheek.</p><p>“Wait don’t wake up!” Abbi waved her arms around, “You’re on a plane, what are you even going to do?” </p><p>“Talk to my friends or something...”</p><p>“But you’re in a dream, you could do anything you want here!” Abbi smiled smugly. She transformed into Aubrey, “Such as… Kiss Aubrey a billion times!”</p><p>“If I wanted to-”</p><p>“If?”</p><p>Sunny sighed, “WHEN I want to kiss Aubrey, I’d just do it in real life.”</p><p>“Fine then. Be that way!” Abbi crossed her arms, “Just leave me here. You hate me anyways.”</p><p>“I don’t hate you…”</p><p>“Yeah yeah, you’re just scared of me… You know, who do you trust more? Some weird guy you’ve talked to once, or me?”</p><p>“I don’t know… I’ll… I’ll see you later…”</p><p>“Yeah… See you later…”</p><p>Sunny woke himself up. Aubrey was already awake.</p><p>“How long has it been?” Sunny asked while rubbing his eye.</p><p>“About an hour,” Aubrey responded.</p><p>“And this flight is fourteen hours long… great…”</p><p>“You dream about flying Mikhael?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“Huh? Oh… no, unfortunately not… I, uh… dreamed about… um… Aubrey, can I kiss you?”</p><p>“Whoa, where did that come from?” Aubrey flushed, “I mean, sure. You don’t have to ask though.”</p><p>“Oh… okay…” Sunny slowly leaned in and pecked Aubrey on the cheek. They both looked at Kim afterward, who was still asleep.</p><p>“Looks like no whining from her,” Aubrey chuckled. </p><p>“Hey… Aubrey… have you ever had… an imaginary friend before?” Sunny asked.</p><p>“No, why?”</p><p>“Well… um… I had one… a long time ago,” Sunny explained, “Her name was Abbi.”</p><p>“Any reason you’re telling me this?”</p><p>“Well… It’s about what that man said… about some ‘ruin’ living inside of me…”</p><p>Aubrey frowned, “Oh…”</p><p>“I haven’t seen Abbi for a long time… but she started showing up again. It’s really weird… I wonder who she is…”</p><p>Basil turned around in his seat, “That guy said Something is the real problem. I know that can’t be true because I saw your Something disappear.”</p><p>“Yeah… and I saw yours disappear too…” Sunny said.</p><p>“Alright, what is all this stuff?” Aubrey asked, “Something? Omori? You two seem to know a lot about all this…”</p><p>“Omori was what I called my shadow,” Sunny said.</p><p>“But why is your shadow named after a company that makes instruments?”</p><p>“Because I…” Sunny shook his head, “Because I was jealous… that Mari spent more time with her piano than with me…”</p><p>“Oh…” Aubrey looked to her feet, “W-what about Something?... I hate that name…”</p><p>“Yeah… I wasn’t very creative with that…” Basil said.</p><p>“You named it?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“Well... Yeah… The first time I saw Sunny after… it all happened… Something appeared. I yelled out something like ‘Something is behind you!’ and I guess it stuck.”</p><p>“But like… what is it?”</p><p>“At first I thought it was some weird manifestation of… I dunno, guilt? But now, I’m not sure anymore,” Sunny tried to explain, “I guess it’s some crazy monster living inside of me…”</p><p>“But that’s what irks me the most!” Basil said, “One, we both had a Something, meaning we’re both a ‘bringer of ruin’ whatever that means. Two, Something disappeared!” </p><p>“Yeah…” Sunny sighed, “Oh well… Guess all we can do is wait and see what happens, right?” </p><p>“Hmm,” Aubrey scratched her chin.</p><p>“Did that explain anything?” Sunny asked.</p><p>“Not particularly…”</p><p>“Oh… sorry…” Sunny apologized.</p><p>“It’s fine. Honestly, so much weird stuff has happened this past year that I don’t really expect to understand anything anymore…” </p><p>“Yeah… me neither…” Basil chuckled. </p><p>“Hey guys, can you do something for me?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“Yeah?” Both Basil and Sunny said.</p><p>“We can talk about all this stuff once we get back. We should have fun while we’re on this trip.”</p><p>“Yeah… Let’s do that,” Basil said</p><p>*****************</p><p>The plane landed and everybody exited into the Japanese airport.</p><p>“All right!” Kel exclaimed, “Goodbye America, hello Japan!” </p><p>“It’s not like we’re gonna live here,” Kim shook her head, “We’re gonna go home in like three days.”</p><p>“Sunny! What does that sign say?” Kel pointed at a sign with a blue figure on it.</p><p>“Men’s room…” Sunny said without looking at it.</p><p>“You couldn’t deduce that it was a bathroom by just looking at the picture?” Kim raised an eyebrow.</p><p>Kel shrugged, “You never know!”</p><p>“Alright, we’ve been told there’s a bus that’s gonna take us to the high school where you’re gonna learn about school in Japan,” Hero explained.</p><p>“Jeez, you sound like a teacher,” Aubrey groaned. </p><p>“After that,” Hero continued, “We’re gonna go to a place called I-... I-... Iwa… Sunny, can you pronounce this?” Hero handed a paper to Sunny.</p><p>“Iwatodai Dormitory,” Sunny read.</p><p>“Thanks. Anyways, we’re gonna go there and drop off all our luggage. After that, I’m assuming we’re allowed to explore.”</p><p>“Boring shit, then cool shit. Got it!” Kim gave a thumbs up.</p><p>“Language,” Hero scolded.</p><p>“The language is Japanese since we are in Japan!” Cris chuckled.</p><p>“Do you know any Japanese, Hero?” Kel asked.</p><p>“Actually, Mari taught me a little bit a long time ago.”</p><p>“Really!? What’d she teach you?”</p><p>Hero chuckled, “Nothing I can repeat.”</p><p>“Kuso…” Sunny said quietly.</p><p>“Yeah… like that…” Hero shook his head. </p><p> </p><p>Everybody got on a bus and it took them to a large building. Various students and teachers stood in front of the door. One of the students stepped forward.</p><p>“Hello… My name is Jun Kanzato.” The student spoke slowly. “I am the student council president of Gekkoukan High. Today, We will be showing you around the school.” </p><p>“Ooh, student council president!” Cris clapped, “That means he must be the god of that school!” </p><p>“I don’t think they actually have a lot of power in real life,” Sunny shook his head. </p><p>Everyone was toured around the building. </p><p>“Why are they all in uniform? Is this a private school?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“All schools have uniforms,” Sunny explained.</p><p>“That sounds like it sucks,” Kim groaned.</p><p>Sunny shrugged, “They probably get used to it.”</p><p>“Still sucks. I can’t imagine not being able to wear my favorite hoodie.”</p><p>Much to Kim, Kel, and Aubrey’s pleasure, the tour eventually came to a close. Before they left, Sunny found the student council president.</p><p>Sunny spoke to him in Japanese, “(Your English is very good.)”</p><p>Jun turned around, “(Really? You heard that? Wait, you’re with the Americans, right?)”</p><p>“(That’s right.)”</p><p>“(I should have known, I haven't seen you around here before. Your Japanese is also very good.)”</p><p>Sunny shrugged, “(I learned at a really young age…)”</p><p>“Sunny come on!” Kel yelled.</p><p>“(It looks like your friends want you,)” Jun gestured towards Kel.</p><p>“(Yeah… Well, it was nice meeting you.)”</p><p>“(You too…)”</p><p>“(Narukami. Sunny Narukami.)”</p><p>“(Well, I hope you have fun on your trip, Narukami.)” Jun waved. </p><p> </p><p>Sunny and his friends all got on another bus and went to the place they would be spending the night. </p><p>“It looks like we’re all staying in the furthest room on the second floor,” Hero said. </p><p>“Kim doesn’t like it when we all share the same room though,” Kel joked.</p><p>“Hey!” Kim crossed her arms, “I’ve actually gotten used to it, and…” Kim’s voice fell to a mutter, “It’s actually kinda fun.”</p><p>“Huh? What was that?” Kel leaned into her.</p><p>“I said, let's drop our shit off so we can do fun stuff already!”</p><p>“Kim…” Hero sighed.</p><p>“Yeah! We should do that!” Kel agreed, “Sunny, lead the way!”</p><p>“I-I don’t know where anything is…” Sunny protested. </p><p>“Well we should walk around until we see something cool then,” Cris suggested. </p><p>“Yeah, and make Sunny read every sign!” Mikhael laughed.</p><p>“Oh my gosh…” Sunny shook his head.</p><p>Everyone placed their luggage in their room and went out to explore the island. </p><p> </p><p>“This place is called ‘Paulownia Mall’,” Sunny read from a sign.</p><p>“You think there are any restaurants here? I’m starving!” Kel said while rubbing his stomach. </p><p>“Hmm…” Sunny inspected the sign closer, “Looks like there’s a cafe and a bar here.”</p><p>“Bars have food… right?” Kel asked.</p><p>“Depends on if it’s a bar or if it’s a bar and grill,” Aubrey said. </p><p>“As long as it’s non-alcoholic I’m fine,” Hero shrugged.</p><p>“It says there isn’t any. We can check it out if you all want,” Sunny said.</p><p>Everyone entered the mall and followed the map to find a place called “Club Escapade”.</p><p>“Yo! An arcade!” Kel pointed at a building with arcade machines inside, “Let’s go play!”</p><p>“I thought you were hungry,” Hero said.</p><p>“It’s not like any of us besides Sunny would even be able to play them,” Cris shrugged.</p><p>“Doh! You’re right,” Kel sighed. </p><p>“It also looks like it’s getting late,” Hero said, “There probably wouldn’t be enough time to eat and play at the arcade.”</p><p>“But… Isn’t late here early back home?” Kel asked.</p><p>“Yeah, it is,” Kim shook her head, “I am so fuckin’ jet-lagged.”</p><p>“Language, Kim.”</p><p>“I already told you, it’s Japanese!” Cris smiled.</p><p>“It’s not <em>that </em>funny,” Mikhael sighed.</p><p>“But we’re speaking English,” Kel said.</p><p>Hero put his head in his hands, “Oh my gosh…”</p><p>“I found Club Escapade,” Sunny pointed at a blue building.</p><p>Everyone entered and was immediately bombarded with bright neon lights and funky music. They all went upstairs and found a seat. Sunny was forced to order drinks for everyone.</p><p>“Did ya get me an Orange Joe?” Kel asked.</p><p>“They don’t have Orange Joe,” Sunny said.</p><p>“Truly a tragedy,” Kel sighed.</p><p>“I got us all water…” </p><p>“Bo-ring!” Kim complained, “Oh well, at least I found these cool sunglasses someone left here!” Kim tried to put them on, but her real glasses got in the way.</p><p>“You alright there?” Aubrey chuckled.</p><p>“Shut up!” Kim sighed. She looked at Sunny, “Here, you’ll look super fresh with these on!” She forces the sunglasses onto his face. </p><p>“That is pretty fresh!” Kel gave a thumbs up.</p><p>“Do you feel fresh?” Cris asked.</p><p>“I feel like… I can’t see…” Sunny shook his head.</p><p>“But do you feel cool?” Basil asked.</p><p>Sunny leaned back in his seat, “I’m always cool…”</p><p>Kel shook his fists in the air, “Alright! That’s what we like to hear!”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“You saying nice things about yourself, dude!” Kel patted Sunny on the back.</p><p>“Oh… Well… Um,” Sunny stumbled over his words.</p><p>“To be fair, Sunny is pretty freaking cool,” Mikhael said, “Especially when he’s all like ‘come to me, Lilim!’ That’s my favorite!”</p><p>Aubrey raised an eyebrow, “Why is that one your favorite?”</p><p>Mikhael only grinned in return. </p><p>“Hey, guys, specifically Sunny, what’s that thing over there?” Kel pointed to a machine in the corner of the room. </p><p>“It looks like… one of those dancing rhythm games,” Sunny said. </p><p>“Ooh! One of us should totally play it!” Cris cheered. Everyone looked at Sunny.</p><p>“No, not me,” Sunny slouched down, “I-I’m not good at dancing…”</p><p>“Cmon, Sun, You’re the only one who can read it,” Kel pestered.</p><p>“And I’d bet you’d look super hot, right Aubrey?” Kim teased.</p><p>“Hmph,” Aubrey crossed her arms, “I guess…”</p><p>“Mmmhh,” Sunny groaned, “Fine…”</p><p>“Alright!” Kel jumped. </p><p>“Good thing I have my camera!” Basil smiled.</p><p>“This is a horrible idea…” Sunny said to himself as he walked up to the machine.</p><p>“Oh, and you also gotta wear the sunglasses too!” Kim added, “They add to the cool. Also, people always draw the sun with sunglasses, so it just makes sense!” </p><p>“Whatever…” </p><p>Sunny stepped onto the dance pad and began searching for a song. He eventually decided on one called “Specialist”.</p><p>“This is gonna be so awesome!” Kim said as she pulled her phone out to record. </p><p>A funky saxophone started playing and Sunny started to move his feet. </p><p>“Wait, he’s like… actually good,” Kim said quietly, “Like… really really good.”</p><p>“Damn…” Aubrey said in bewilderment.</p><p>“Did any of you know Sunny could dance like this?” Basil asked while positioning his camera. </p><p>“No clue…” Kel said</p><p>Two minutes and nineteen seconds later, the song ended and Sunny got off the dance pad. </p><p>“Sunny… that was…” Kel started to say.</p><p>“I know, I’m not the best at that kind of thing, b-but you all made me do it.”</p><p>“That was amazing!” Aubrey said in awe.</p><p>“Where’d you even learn that!?” Cris asked.</p><p>“You gotta teach me those moves!” Mikhael said.</p><p>“Oh… um… I-I taught myself… I guess…” Sunny blushed.</p><p>“There’s no way,” Kim shook her head, “That was WAY too good!”</p><p>“Oh… well… hey look, our food’s here!” Sunny pointed at a waiter holding two large plates of food, “B-better go eat it, right? Cuz I’m starving.”</p><p>Everyone went back to their seats and ate their food. Sunny spent the rest of the night there trying to deflect compliments of his dancing skills. </p><p> </p><p>Everybody started walking back to their hotel. </p><p>“This is so sad,” Kel complained, “We only have two days left here.”</p><p>“One actually,” Basil corrected, “The day after that we spend entirely on a plane.”</p><p>“That’s even worse!” Kel threw his hands in the air.</p><p>“Well, we do have all day tomorrow to do whatever,” Aubrey said.</p><p>“Hey, check this out!” Mikhael pointed at a sign, “It’s in English! It says hot spring! Let’s go there!”</p><p>“NO!” Sunny yelled quickly. </p><p>“Whoa,” Kim said, “What’s wrong with a hot spring.”</p><p>“We did pack our swimsuits,” Basil added, “Maybe we could go there tomorrow?”</p><p>“No! We shouldn’t!” Sunny said.</p><p>“Why are you so adamant about this?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“Well… um… you see… in Japan, hot springs are like… baths… so you kind of have to be…” Sunny sighed, “You gotta be… there’ll be naked people there…” </p><p>“Ew!” Kim yelled.</p><p>“No way I’m doing that!” Kel waved his hands in front of him.</p><p>“Y-yeah…” Sunny said quietly, “T-that’s why I think it’s a bad idea.”</p><p>Everyone decided not to go to the hot spring because hot spring scenes in Persona games suck ass. </p><p>*****************</p><p>Everybody returned to their room at the Iwatodai Dormitory. Sunny lay on his sleeping bag and tried to fall into slumber, until…</p><p>“Sunny, wake up!”</p><p>“Huh…” Sunny slowly opened his eyes to Aubrey nudging him. </p><p>“Sunny! You awake?” She asked.</p><p>“I am now…”</p><p>“C’mon, let’s go do something!”</p><p>“Aren’t you tired?”</p><p>“Jet lag is a bitch, now let’s get out of here.”</p><p>“Won’t Hero or one of our teachers get mad?”</p><p>“Kel and Kim snuck out, why can’t we?”</p><p>“Well… okay, I guess…” Sunny got out of his sleeping bag.</p><p>“Great!” Aubrey said a little too loudly. She immediately covered her mouth and looked over to Hero. Fortunately, he was still asleep. </p><p>“You sure this is alright?” Sunny asked fearfully.</p><p>“It’s fine,” Aubrey reassured, “Now let’s get out of here,” She grabbed Sunny by the hand and they left the building. </p><p>*****************</p><p>“Is this like a shrine or something?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“It says it’s called ‘Naganaki Shrine’,” Sunny read from a sign.</p><p>“So do people, like, pray here?”</p><p>“I think so… I think you can pray for stuff like good fortune, good health, and good relationships.”</p><p>“You think?”</p><p>“I-I’m kinda just guessing… All my knowledge about this kind of stuff comes from my parents and Mari, and that was like… ten years ago?”</p><p>“Huh… So do you just go up to that thing and start praying?” Aubrey pointed at a box in front of the shrine.”</p><p>“Actually, that's a Fortune Box.”</p><p>“What’s that?”</p><p>Sunny walked up to the box, “It looks like you can pay a hundred yen to get a fortune.”</p><p>“A hundred yen!” Aubrey yelled, “... Is that a lot?”</p><p>“About a dollar.” </p><p>“Oh… that’s not bad then…”</p><p>Sunny pulled a 100 yen note and handed it to Aubrey, “Wanna get a fortune?” </p><p>“Oh! Sure!” Aubrey took the bill and put it in the box. She received a small piece of paper, “What does this say?”</p><p>“Little luck.”</p><p>“Is that good?”</p><p>Sunny shrugged, “It’s fine. Better than bad luck.” He put his own bill into the box and got his own fortune.</p><p>“What does yours say?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“It says… great luck…”</p><p>“Wow! That sounds good!” </p><p>“Y-yeah…” Sunny clutched the fortune in his hand, “I-I wonder…”</p><p>“Do you feel lucky?”</p><p>“Well… yes and no, I guess… No, because I’m supposed to be some monst-”</p><p>“Sunny,” Aubrey said aggressively. </p><p>“Oh… Sorry…”</p><p>“How do you feel right now?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“I-I guess I feel pretty lucky right now…” Sunny said, “I mean, I’m with you, so…”</p><p>“Awww, Sunny,” Aubrey smiled.</p><p>Sunny blushed, “I mean, like, all my friends. N-not that I don’t want you around, I always want you around! I’m just… um...”</p><p>Aubrey wrapped her arms around Sunny’s, “Still, it makes me happy when you’re happy!”</p><p>“That day… when we were told all that stuff… and you all came in to protect me… It made me realize something.”</p><p>“That we all love you?”</p><p>“Y-yeah... In a way, I guess I am super lucky… to have friends like you all…”</p><p>“I’m glad we’re finally getting through to you,” Aubrey kissed Sunny on the forehead, “We all just want you to be happy.”</p><p>“And I’m glad you’re all helping me…” Sunny cleared his throat, “Y-you think we should head back now? I don’t want Hero waking up and seeing we’re not there… Plus I still have to find a place where I can help Basil get something for Cris.”</p><p>Aubrey sighed, “I guess we probably should… but can’t we just stay here a little longer?”</p><p>Sunny smiled, “Y-yeah… I think we could...”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>To all zero Persona Trinity Soul fans out there: You cool.<br/>To all the Chihiro fans out there: Sorry, but this fic doesn't take place during the time she would be student council president. I know it's 20XX so it's ambiguous, but I have my own idea of when I want it to take place.<br/>To all the Dante from Devil May Cry fans out there: Sorry he wasn't in the last chapter. I'll try harder next time.<br/>To all the fans of this fic out there: You are poggers for reading this.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Hero's Shadow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sunny sat alone in his room working on homework. He had forced himself to stay up all night to get a single paper done.</p><p>“This is so stupid. Who even cares about some war a thousand years ago…” Sunny said to himself.</p><p>The night grew, and Sunny got more and more annoyed. Eventually, midnight came, and Sunny’s TV turned itself on. Sunny looked up at the static on the screen. He saw a tall figure with messy hair, but he could not quite make out their identity. Shortly after, the figure disappeared and Sunny got a call.</p><p>“Yo yo yo, do you know who it is!?” A voice came from Sunny’s phone.’’</p><p>“Mikhael…”</p><p>“How’d you know!?” Mikhael responded.</p><p>“Did you see the midnight channel? Did you feel anyone enter the TV?”</p><p>“First question? Yes! Second question, No.”</p><p>“I guess we can only really see them once they’re actually in the TV, right?”</p><p>“Exactly!”</p><p>“So what are we gonna do?” Sunny asked.</p><p>“Hmm…” Mikhael stayed quiet for a while.</p><p>“You there?”</p><p>“I’m thinking! Don’t rush me!”</p><p>“Oh… sorry…” </p><p>“I think I will meditate all day tomorrow! That way I can deduce the precise time our person enters the TV.”</p><p>“But we have school tomorrow…”</p><p>“That’s right!” Damn it,” The sound of Mikhael hitting something could be heard.</p><p>“You alright?” Sunny asked.</p><p>“I know, I’ll just meditate in school! Who needs to learn anyways, right?”</p><p>“I guess…”</p><p>“Anyways, I am going to hang up on you. I need my sleep. It takes work to be this sexy!”</p><p>“I bet it does… Goodni-”</p><p>Mikhael hung up before Sunny could finish his sentence.</p><p>Sunny sighed, “Whatever…” He decided that it was time for him to go to sleep as well.</p><p>*****************</p><p>Everybody sat together on the roof for lunch. They discussed what they had seen the night before. </p><p>“So anyway, I was thinking…” Kim started, “What if someone shows up on the TV who isn’t in our town? Then what do we do?”</p><p>“Wouldn’t we still be able to find them in that world?” Basil asked.</p><p>“I don’t think we necessarily have to see them here to be able to find them in the TV world,” Aubrey said.</p><p>“You know, there are two things I’ve noticed that all the people captured,” Sunny told.</p><p>“And what’s that?” Kim asked.</p><p>“Well… number one, they all show up on actual broadcast sometime before they’re captured.”</p><p>“That… is that true?” Cris wondered, “I mean… I was interviewed about my swim tournament right before I was captured.”</p><p>“Not that you mention it, I was in that Fix-It commercial right before I was captured too!” Basil added.</p><p>“News chick would have been on TV as well… considering she’s a news chick,” Mikhael shrugged. </p><p>“You’re right! I must have been on TV too when they tried to interview me back in April!” Aubrey said.</p><p>“Who tried to interview you?” Mikhael asked.</p><p>“It was right after the first murder. Some news losers tried to ask me how I felt about it and crap.”</p><p>“The only outlier is that Mitsuo wasn’t on TV…” Cris said.</p><p>Kim looked at Kel, “You’ve been awfully quiet, something wrong?”</p><p>“Um…” Kel began, “I-if they are on TV before you’re captured, then…” Kel stopped himself.</p><p>“Do you know someone who was on TV recently?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“Well, he’s just in the background but…” Kel stumbled over his words, “There was an ad for the college Hero goes to and… He was in it…”</p><p>“Oh no…” Sunny said quietly.</p><p>“But he was just in the background!” Kel yelled, “He wasn’t even talking, there was just a crowd of people and you could see him if you squint.”</p><p>“When did you learn about this?” Basil asked.</p><p>“Last night. We were all watching TV together and Hero pointed himself out…”</p><p>“I don’t think it’d be him if he was in the background, right?” Cris wondered.</p><p>“Um… that brings me to the second thing I noticed…” Sunny said.</p><p>“And what’s that?” Kim asked.</p><p>“Well… Everyone who’s been captured is… someone I know…”</p><p>“That… That’s true!” Kim scratched her chin.</p><p>“Specifically… People close to me…”</p><p>“You were close to a news anchor?” Mikhael asked.</p><p>Sunny shook his head, “Well, no… but everyone after her…”</p><p>“Aubrey was taken right after that lady died…” Basil noted.</p><p>“And we all know how much Sunny likes Aubrey,” Kim smirked.</p><p>“But like… seriously,” Sunny said, “Right after I arrived in Faraway, Aubrey was kidnapped. After that, Basil was kidnapped.”</p><p>“What about me,” Cris asked, “I mean, we knew each other before the whole TV world thing happened, but I don’t think we were as tight as you and the others.”</p><p>“Yeah… That’s true…” Sunny put his head in his hands, “I-I don’t even know… I’m just grasping at straws at this point…”</p><p>“Guys, guys GUYS!” Mikhael yelled.</p><p>“I felt it too,” Cris added.</p><p>“Huh? What’s going on?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“Someone JUST entered the TV world, like just now!” Mikhael told.</p><p>“So we should go in after school ends?” Basil asked.</p><p>“Hmm,” Cris scratched her chin, “I don’t think we can just yet. I have to know who we’re looking for to track them.”</p><p>“Yeah, me too,” Mikhael said. </p><p>“So at the very least, we have to wait until tomorrow,” Aubrey sighed,</p><p>“Can’t we just skip school tomorrow?” Kel complained, “I mean, this is more important, right?” </p><p>“Unfortunately, I don’t think we could make up an excuse good enough to let us do that,” Cris said.</p><p>“Why can’t we just tell the truth?” Kel asked.</p><p>Kim snorted, “Literally no one besides us would believe any of this crap.”</p><p>Kel sighed, “So we’re gonna have to wait until tomorrow after school. How amazing…” </p><p>“That means… We should probably rest up tonight and get ready for the fight tomorrow,” Sunny said.</p><p>“Resting is my favorite thing!” Kim gave a thumbs up.</p><p>“That means I don’t have to do my homework tonight!” Kel said excitedly.</p><p>“You should still do your homework…” Basil shook his head.</p><p>*****************</p><p>“I was really hoping we’d be done with this…” Sunny said to himself. He sat in front of his TV, waiting for midnight to come. Eventually, it did, and just as expected, a figure appeared.</p><p>“<em>It’s… Hero? No… Kel was right…</em>”</p><p>The Hero on the TV wore a lab coat. He somehow looked more groomed than Hero usually does.</p><p>Hero spoke, “Welcome… Welcome, everyone… It is I, the most perfect man in the world! Today, you will witness a most flawless surgery, performed by none other than me! Today… I will bring Mari, my beloved back…”</p><p>The TV slowly turned itself off, only leaving Sunny with his mouth wide open. His phone rang, and he answered without even thinking about it.</p><p>“Sunny!? It’s me, Basil?” They answered, “D-did you see that? Kel was right! Y-you saw that, right?”</p><p>“I…” Sunny tried to speak, but there was only silence. </p><p>“Are you alright?” Basil asked.</p><p>“H-he said… He wants to bring back Mari…”</p><p>“Y-yeah… I heard,” Basil responded quietly.</p><p>“We’re gonna see Hero’s thoughts…”</p><p>“Y-yeah… B-but he says he’s okay with us now! Or at least, he’s okay with you.”</p><p>“I hope…”</p><p>“I think… I hope we’ll be fine… We’ve saved everyone else before…”</p><p>Sunny sighed, “That’s not what I’m worried about.”</p><p>“Oh…” Basil was quiet for a moment, “W-well, we should probably get some sleep. Be ready for tomorrow and stuff, right?”</p><p>“Yeah… We should… Goodnight Basil.”</p><p>“Goodnight, Sunny.”</p><p>They both ended their calls, and Sunny went to bed. </p><p>“<em>Hero… We’ll save you… Even if you hate me, I still want to save you…</em>”</p><p>*****************</p><p>The school bell rang, and the day was finally over. All of Sunny’s friends quickly met up and went to Othermart.</p><p>“How come the days when you have something to do after school are so long!?” Aubrey complained.</p><p>“That’s because you notice time passing, making it feel longer,” Cris explained.</p><p>“It should be the other way around!”</p><p>“Unfortunately, that’s not how that works,” Kim patted Aubrey on the shoulder.</p><p>“I hid all our weapons outside the store,” Mikhael said, “I hope they’re still there.”</p><p>“They better be! My bat is worth more than your life!” Aubrey threatened.</p><p>“I highly doubt that!” Mikhael smiled. Everyone followed him around to the back of the building, and all their weapons were still there.</p><p>“Do you think anyone finds it weird we carry all this stuff to where all TVs are?” Basil asked. </p><p>“I carry my bat almost everywhere,” Aubrey said.</p><p>“Luckily, most of our stuff is small enough to conceal,” Kim added, “Except for one of us, who uses a pole!”</p><p>“It’s not a pole!” Basil defended, “It’s a staff!”</p><p>“What’s the difference?” </p><p>Basil sighed, “It’s… Whatever, It doesn’t matter…”</p><p>Everyone entered the store and made their way to the electronics section. They all entered the TV once more.</p><p> </p><p>“I hate, hate, HATE this place!” Kim complained.</p><p>“Really hoping we wouldn’t have to come back here,” Aubrey sighed.</p><p>Sunny looked to Kel, “Hey… You’ve been pretty quiet today… It is because…”</p><p>“I’m scared…” Kel said quietly. </p><p>“We’ve saved every single person before, we can do it again,” Kim told, “Hell, I remember when it was just the three of us and we had to save Aubrey.”</p><p>“Yeah, but… I don’t know…” Kel shook his head, “I got home yesterday and Hero wasn’t there. That’s when I knew he fell in…”</p><p>“Why didn’t you text us?”</p><p>“Because… I didn’t want to scare you… and I wanted to be wrong…”</p><p>“Kel…” Sunny took a deep breath, “We are going to save him.”</p><p>“Y-yeah…” Kel nodded. He looked to Cris, “Do you know where he is?”</p><p>“Yup! I managed to find his trace this way!” Cris waved everyone to follow her.</p><p> </p><p>Everybody arrived at a small metal building. It looked like some sort of bunker. </p><p>“This place looks much smaller than the others,” Aubrey commented.</p><p>“Huh… Interesting,” Cris said to herself.</p><p>“What’s up?” Basil asked.</p><p>“While the other dungeons we’ve been to go upwards, this one goes down,” Cris told, “Hero should be on the ninth basement floor.”</p><p>“Hey! How do you know every other one only went upward!?” Mikhael asked.</p><p>“Those places still exist, it’s not like they disappear when the shadow is defeated,” Cris said, “I can see the map of all those places, and they’re all towers.”</p><p>“Hmph,” Mikhael grunted, “Guess my navigation skills are no longer appreciated.”</p><p>“You help us find the way out though,” Aubrey said.</p><p>“Oh yeah, I DO do that. Heh, who’s the best?” Mikhael laughed.</p><p>“It’s me,” Kim said, not entirely paying attention. </p><p>“L-let’s go find Hero,” Sunny said, “Wouldn’t wanna keep him waiting, right?” </p><p>“Yes! The faster we get there, the better,” Kel agreed. </p><p>Everyone entered the building. The walls were metal and covered with various screens. It looked somewhat similar to a hospital. The only thing inside the first floor was an elevator, forcing them to take it. While they waited for it to arrive on the first basement floor, they heard Hero’s voice.</p><p>“I just can’t do it! I can’t! But… I can’t let anyone down either… Why me?...”</p><p>“Oh… Hero…” Kel said quietly.</p><p>“Everything alright?” Kim asked.</p><p>“Yeah… I think… We should get going!”</p><p>The elevator came to a stop and everybody progressed through the dungeon. </p><p>*****************</p><p>“This is so annoying!” Aubrey banged her fist against the wall, “We came all the way here just to be locked out!?”</p><p>“Guess the shadows are getting smarter,” Cris shrugged.</p><p>“This is quite odd,” Mikhael said, “Usually we get to the final floor and we can just enter!”</p><p>“How are we supposed to enter if it’s locked?” Kim asked.</p><p>“Well… I’m guessing there might be a key somewhere here…” Sunny said.</p><p>“Now we need keys!?” Mikhael yelled, “I do not comprehend.”</p><p>“Well, if a door is locked, you need a key to unlock it,” Kim said, “It’s pretty simple.”</p><p>“Not that, idiot, I don’t even know where a key would be!” </p><p>“Well, If I were to guess, I would say a high-ranking shadow would have the key,” Cris said.</p><p>“W-where would a shadow like this be?” Sunny asked.</p><p>“Hmm… help me Himiko!” Cris summoned her persona. They stood there scanning the area for a moment.</p><p>“You find anything?” Basil asked.</p><p>“Someone… on the fourth floor…” Cris said, “Yes… Powerful shadow on the fourth floor. It holds the key.”</p><p>Aubrey groaned, “Now we gotta go all the way back for this stupid key, then come back here? Pain in my ass…”</p><p>“W-wait! I’m picking something else up!” Cris yelled. “It sounds like… Hero?”</p><p>“You can hear him!?” Kel yelled.</p><p>“Yes! Listen to this!” Cris’s persona cast some sort of spell. Everyone could hear Hero’s voice.</p><p>“I-I-I’m s-so sorry… Mari… I-I wasn’t good enough… I… I want… I-I Wasn’t there for you…” The voice cut off and could no longer be heard.</p><p>“No…” Kel muttered.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Kim asked.</p><p>“I recognize that… What Hero said… That’s exactly what he said after Mari died…”</p><p>“Oh… oh no…” Basil said quietly.</p><p>“He misses Mari…” Sunny’s voice was shaky, “I’m… I’m so sorry Hero…”</p><p>“Whatever happens… We’ll face it together,” Kel put his hand on Sunny’s shoulder, “Right Sunny?”</p><p>“Y-yeah… right…” Sunny said quietly. “L-let's go find that key.”</p><p>*****************</p><p>Everyone returned to the final door, key in hand. </p><p>“I can’t believe we had to fight a Transformer!” Kim said, “Who thought something like that would have the key!”</p><p>“It was actually more akin to a Gundam!” Cris corrected.</p><p>“I have no idea what that is,” Kim shook her head.</p><p>“Guys,” Kel interrupted, “We need to go save Hero…”</p><p>“Yes… We should…” Sunny agreed.</p><p>Sunny inserted the key into the door and it opened. Everyone entered and found two Heros standing next to each other. The shadow Hero wore the lab coat and doctor uniform from the midnight channel, while the real Hero wore his regular clothes. Behind them was a large coffin with some machinery hanging above it. </p><p>“<em>Is he trying to revive Mari?</em>”</p><p>Hero’s shadow appeared to be taunting the real Hero, “You think you're perfect, yet at the same time you think you’re nothing!”</p><p>“N-no. Nobody’s perfect,” The real Hero said.</p><p>“Hero!” Kel yelled, “We’re here for you!”</p><p>“Whatever you do, DO NOT say ‘I’m not you’ or bad things will happen!” Kim warned. </p><p>Hero turned to Sunny and his friends, “W-what are you doing here? Get back!”</p><p>“We’re here to save you!” Kel told.</p><p>“Save me!? This can’t be real… All that stuff you told me… It was actually true?” Hero asked.</p><p>Hero’s shadow continued taunting, “That’s right! No one’s perfect! But I’m the least perfect out of everything! I’m worthless! Mari died BECAUSE OF ME!” </p><p>“No! That’s not true!” Hero yelled, “Mari died because of…” He didn’t finish his sentence.</p><p>Hero’s shadow turned to Sunny and his friends and looked directly at Sunny.</p><p>“You…” The shadow’s voice grew darker. Its gaze turned to Basil, “You’re here too...”</p><p>“Hero! Don’t listen to it!” Sunny yelled.</p><p>Hero’s shadow pushed the real Hero aside, “I care nothing for this man anymore… I have a new target…”</p><p>“Huh?” Basil took a step back.</p><p>“You two… You are the reason I’m like this!” The shadow yelled. “Sunny! You murdered her!” </p><p>“N-no…” Hero struggled to stand up.</p><p>Hero’s shadow pointed at Sunny, “I HATE YOU! I WANT YOU DEAD!”</p><p>Sunny sharply exhaled, “Y-... I-... I’m s-”</p><p>“Don’t you even dare say you’re sorry!” The shadow yelled, “I will never forgive you!” </p><p>“This is how Hero actually feels…” Kel said quietly.</p><p>“It was an accident!” Aubrey yelled, “He was a stupid kid!”</p><p>“I know you don’t actually want this!” Kel said, “I’ve seen your kindness towards Sunny and Basil, you don’t hate them!”</p><p>“Basil…” The shadow turned to Basil once more, “You… You are far worse!”</p><p>Basil turned away, “I-I know… I’m…”</p><p>“You hung her!” The shadow raged, “You hid her death! You desecrated her body! You ruin everything! You are truly the blight of humanity.”</p><p>Basil fell to his knees, “I… I know… I know I can never be forgiven…”</p><p>Cris grabbed onto Basil’s arm, “Basil? Are you alright? W-what’s he talking about?”</p><p>Hero’s shadow chuckled, “Oh? She doesn’t know? Your stupid girlfriend doesn’t know about the sins you’ve committed? And what is even up with that!? How come you can steal my love and get your own! How is that fair!?”</p><p>“Basil, what is he talking about?” Cris asked. Basil couldn’t speak through his tears.</p><p>“Oh, I’ll gladly tell you everything!” The shadow laughed. It pointed at Sunny, “This subhuman garbage murdered my girlfriend! He murdered Mari!”</p><p>“It had to be an accident!” Kim yelled, “He wasn’t in his right mind, right? He didn’t mean to push her!”</p><p>“Oh, when did you become the expert on all this!?” The shadow demanded.</p><p>“I-I’m not… I just heard…” Kim said quietly.</p><p>“Sunny murdered her, and this… SCUM!” The shadow pointed at Basil, “Decided to hide her death by pretending she hung herself! How fucked up is that!?” </p><p>“W-what?” Cris quavered, “B-Basil… Did that really happen?”</p><p>Basil nodded, “Y-yes… I-I-I just wanted to protect Sunny… I d-didn’t want him t-to get in trouble… I-I was so stupid… I’m s-so sorry…”</p><p>“Hey!” The real Hero yelled. He had finally been able to stand up, “Don’t say stuff like that to my friends!”</p><p>“They are not your friends!” The shadow laughed, “You hate each and every one of them!”</p><p>“That’s not true!”</p><p>“You hate Kel because he’s loved while you’re not! You hate Sunny for stealing the most important person in your life from you! You hate Basil because he got away with everything!”</p><p>“I-I-I don’t!” Hero yelled, “I don’t hate them!”</p><p>“You hate them and you hate me! You hate the truth! I know you hate the truth because I am you!”</p><p>“N-no… I’m not you! I don’t hate anyone!” </p><p>The shadow started laughing even harder, “Yes… YES! I am NOT YOU! You’re Hero… and I’m Henry!” It started clawing at its face, and four large appendages burst from its back. </p><p>“W-what’s going on!?” Aubrey took a step backward.</p><p>The appendages from the shadow’s back lifted it up into the air. They looked just like…</p><p>“S-spider legs!?” Hero shivered. He almost immediately blacked out.</p><p>Everyone looked at the shadow’s face. All the skin was gone, revealing a metallic interior. Almost all of the shadow was revealed to have some robotic trait. He held one gun in each hand.</p><p>“I am a shadow… the true self!” The shadow bellowed, “This sadness… This fear… This envy! Sunny! Basil! I <em>will </em>kill you… Only then may I bring her back!” </p><p>“Hero… I know the real you…” Kel said quietly. </p><p>“Sunny, Basil, are you alright!?” Aubrey asked.</p><p>“I-I don’t know,” Sunny said, “B-but that doesn’t matter right now… What matters is… We save Hero.” </p><p>“Basil,” Cris tried to help him up.</p><p>“C-Cris… I’m so sorry…”</p><p>“Why are you apologizing to me?” </p><p>“B-because I’m a horrible person…”</p><p>“No, you’re not!” Cris yelled, “I know you, the real you!”</p><p>“You heard what I did…”</p><p>“Yeah, It sounds to me like a stupid accident a stupid kid did!”</p><p>“Y-you’re not mad at me?”</p><p>“Look, If you really want to, you can tell me all about it when we get home. But right now, we need you!”</p><p>“Need… me?” Basil said quietly.</p><p>“Uh-huh! I’ll be cheering you on while providing support!” Cris smiled.</p><p>“Y-yeah…” Basil stood up. He looked at Sunny and nodded.</p><p>“Hey, shadow!” Sunny yelled.</p><p>“Your life will soon be over!” The shadow pointed its guns at Sunny and Basil.</p><p>“I know it’s hard to forgive me… To forgive us for what we did,” Sunny started, “Honestly, I never expected you to, but you’re still our friend and we will save you!” </p><p>“Y-yeah! You’re our friend!” Basil yelled, “I don’t care what happens anymore, we’ll always be here for each other!” Basil raised his hand in the air.</p><p>“Whoa… guys,” Cris said, “Something’s happening to Basil’s persona.”</p><p>“Yes… yes!” Basil summoned his persona, “Lend me your power… Rokuten Maou!” </p><p>Basil’s persona appeared, but it looked slightly different. This time, it was red and its body was covered in flame decal. </p><p>“He evolved his persona!” Cris exclaimed.</p><p>“Enough with the light show!” The shadow yelled, “Die!” Hero’s shadow charged towards Basil, but his persona intercepted it.</p><p>“I won’t allow you to act like this!” Basil yelled. His persona threw Hero’s shadow to the ground.</p><p>“You… damn you…” The shadow muttered, “All you can do is kill, kill, KILL!” It looked to Sunny, “How about I push you down the stairs, see how you like it!?” He pointed his guns at Sunny.</p><p>“Ganesha!” Sunny yelled. A large elephant creature appeared behind him. “Makarakarn!” A shield appeared in front of Sunny.</p><p>The ray from the shadow’s gun bounced off the shield and returned to the attacker. Hero’s shadow collapsed under his weight. </p><p>“This is for your own good!” Kel yelled as he ran up to the shadow. “Persona!” He yelled as his persona appeared behind him. A massive gust of wind appeared, blowing the shadow to the wall.</p><p>“Alright everyone, you know what to do!” Sunny said. He and his friends charged the shadow for an all-out attack. </p><p>Hero’s shadow struggled to pick itself back up, “H-how!? How can you side with these monsters!? I hate you! I hate all of you!!!” </p><p>“Hero…” Kel shook his head, “How could you think things like this?”</p><p>“How come you have everything I don’t!” Hero’s shadow yelled, “How come you’re loved when I’m not? How come you can forgive this trash when I can’t!?”</p><p>“I-I don’t know…” Kel said, “All I know right now is… I want my brother back…”</p><p>“K-Kel…” The shadow staggered.</p><p>“Is this what Mari would want!?” Aubrey yelled.</p><p>“M-Mari…” The shadow fell to the ground.</p><p>“Would she want you to kill us?” Aubrey continued, “Would she want you to kill her brother.”</p><p>“Would she have wanted to be pushed down the stairs!?” The shadow yelled.</p><p>“She’d want you to forgive them!” Aubrey responded.</p><p>“I-I…” The shadow shook, “I… I don’t care! What about what I want! Huh? Everyone has so many expectations of me and what do I get in return? Nothing! I’ll kill you all!” </p><p>“Basil, now! He’s distracted” Cris yelled.</p><p>“Huh?” The shadow turned around and saw Basil summoning his persona.</p><p>“Ziodyne!” Basil yelled. A massive bolt of electricity appeared and stuck the shadow. </p><p>Hero’s shadow began to move sporadically, “N-no! How could this happen!? I… I… I am the embodiment of the perfect being!” The shadow collapsed and returned to looking like the real Hero. </p><p>Sunny walked up to the shadow, “It’s over, Hero…”</p><p>“N-no…” The shadow tried to back away, “You’re gonna kill me too!” </p><p>“No…” Sunny shook his head, “Y-you’re the true self… right?”</p><p>“What are you doing!?” Hero’s shadow groaned.</p><p>“He-... no, Henry…” Sunny said, “I don’t deserve your forgiveness… but I do know one thing. You want to still be friends…”</p><p>“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!”</p><p>“You’re still so kind to me... and Basil... and everyone… You want to forgive us… I can tell…”</p><p>Hero’s shadow’s breathing grew shaky, “Y-yeah… that’s right…”</p><p>Sunny extended his hand out to the shadow, “And I want to stay friends too…”</p><p>“After all this time…” Hero’s shadow said, “You… still see me as... A friend?” The shadow reached out and grabbed ahold of Sunny’s hand.</p><p>“He’s acting completely different now…” Kim observed.</p><p>“It’s almost like he had a change of heart…” Cris noted.</p><p>Hero’s shadow shook Sunny’s hand, then disappeared. Sunny saw the real Hero standing right behind it.</p><p>“I… I heard everything…” Hero told.</p><p>“Hero…” Sunny shook his head, “No matter how many times I say it… I can never show you how sorry I am…”</p><p>“No, Sunny…” Hero wrapped his arms around Sunny, “I’m the one who should be sorry.”</p><p>“W-wha?”</p><p>“All those things that guy said… That’s how I felt… I’m a horrible person.”</p><p>“But I know you want to make things right,” Sunny said, “I know you want us to still keep our friendship… Me and Basil…”</p><p>“All those horrible horrible things… and you still save my life…” Hero chuckled, “Why… Why would you risk your life for me?”</p><p>“Because… you said that… we made the mistake of not being there for each other before... and that we’d never do that again…”</p><p>“You remembered that?” Hero asked.</p><p>Sunny nodded, “It’s a promise... I will never break.”</p><p>“Sunny… Can I ask you a selfish question?”</p><p>“What is it?”</p><p>“I don’t know if I can forgive you… not yet… but can you forgive me?”</p><p>“...”</p><p>Sunny nodded, “I… I think I can…”</p><p>Hero let go of Sunny, “Thank you… Thank you so much…” </p><p>Hero looked up and found a card floating above his head. On it was a wheel with a sword in the middle. At the bottom, the number X (10) was shown. The fortune arcana. The card transformed into a very small fairy-like creature that held a sword three times its size. Hero had awakened his persona, Sukuna-Hikona. </p><p>“NO WAY!” Kel exclaimed, “Hero! You have a persona!”</p><p>“Y-yeah…” Hero said, “Guess all those stories you were telling were true.”</p><p>“Would I ever lie to you?” Kel nudged his brother.</p><p>“Yes… Many times actually,” Hero shook his head, “Honestly, I would never have believed any of this if I hadn’t seen it.”</p><p>“You guys wanna like… head home or something?” Kim shrugged, “Cuz like… I hate being in the TV world.”</p><p>“Actually… Can I try something?” Hero asked.</p><p>“Huh? Try what?” Kel tilted his head.</p><p>“Well… you always talk about ‘summoning your persona’ and now that I have one… I wanna do it too!” </p><p>“Okay cool!” Kel gave a thumbs up. He turned to his friends, “Can you all stay here a little while longer so he can see Hero summon his persona!?”</p><p>Mikhael sighed, “Just make it quick.”</p><p>“Okay… so how do I do it?” Hero asked.</p><p>“Oh… well you just kinda say ‘persona’ and it appears.”</p><p>“You mean like… PERSONA!” Hero yelled. Nothing happened.</p><p>“No no no,” Aubrey waved her hands, “You got it all wrong. You gotta put some oomph in your voice.”</p><p>“Don’t forget the card part!” Cris interjected.”</p><p>“Oh yeah, a card is gonna appear when you call for your persona,” Kel told, “You gotta crush it to make your persona actually appear.”</p><p>“This is all so complicated,” Hero shook his head.</p><p>“Hey, if I can do it, anyone can!” Basil said.</p><p>“All right… Persona!” Hero yelled again. Nothing happened.</p><p>“Not like that at all!” Mikhael ridiculed, “Watch the master… PERSONA!” Mikhael summoned his persona.</p><p>“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong…” Hero sighed.</p><p>“Maybe it’s not ready yet?” Aubrey shrugged.</p><p>“Can we PLEASE leave this place?” Kim complained, “Hero can practice using his persona later!”</p><p>“Ugh… fine…” Kel reluctantly agreed. </p><p>“Now is my time to shine!” Mikhael posed. Everyone followed him out of the TV world. </p><p>*****************</p><p>Everyone returned to the Othermart electronics section. Hero could barely stand up, so Kel and Kim decided to help him home. Mikhael also left so he could go “pick up some chicks” in his own words. Sunny saw Cris consoling Basil.</p><p>“You were very brave in there,” Cris told.</p><p>“I’m so sorry, Cris…” Basil said quietly.</p><p>“Why do you apologize to me?”</p><p>“Because now you know who I really am… a monster.”</p><p>“I don’t think you’re a monster.”</p><p>“Why not?”</p><p>“Well… from the context clues I’ve gathered… It sounds like an accident.”</p><p>“How could it have been an accident?” Basil cried, “How do I accidentally pretend to hang someone?”</p><p>“Hmm…” Cris scratched her chin, “Well… I’m no psychologist, but maybe it was some flight or fight thing?” </p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“Like, you couldn’t think rationally, you know? You kinda went on autopilot or something. Did whatever you thought was best at the moment, even if it was irrational.”</p><p>“M-maybe… Wow, Cris, you’re really smart…”</p><p>“Well,” Cris chuckled, “They don’t give a 4.0 GPA to anyone.” </p><p>“N-no way you have that…”</p><p>“Tryin’ for valedictorian!” Cris smiled.</p><p>“W-wow…”</p><p>Cris kissed Basil on the cheek, “So… you wanna go somewhere? Cheer you up?”</p><p>“W-wha!?” Basil flushed.</p><p>“Wait! Do that again!” Aubrey said quickly while she pulled out her phone.</p><p>“W-wait! You guys are still here?!” Basil had just noticed Sunny and Aubrey still standing there. </p><p>“Oh, sure!” Cris smiled. She kissed Basil on the cheek again, and Aubrey snapped a picture.</p><p>“I’ll send it to you,” Aubrey winked. </p><p>“Wait!” Basil yelled. “Um… I…”</p><p>“Revenge for that one time,” Aubrey smiled deviously.</p><p>“No… It’s just… um… can you send me that picture too?”</p><p>Aubrey chuckled, “What a bunch of nerds. You’re perfect for each other!”</p>
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